1
|
Suárez-Pérez A, Orós J. Iatrogenic gas embolism in a juvenile loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). J Comp Pathol 2024; 208:50-53. [PMID: 38194723 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2023.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 09/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
A mild pneumocoelom was diagnosed by computed tomography in a stranded juvenile loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). After gas extraction by ultrasound-guided puncture, the animal did not improve and was subjected to hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). After HBOT, the turtle developed marked subcutaneous emphysema and was found dead the following morning. Gross lesions included a distended right atrium with numerous gas bubbles within the epicardium, gas bubbles in the hepatic, gastric and mesenteric veins, a small gas-filled bulla in the left lung and diffuse haemorrhages in the encephalon. Histological lesions included gas-like emboli in the lumen of the right atrium with myocardial necrosis, gas-like emboli in the lumina of intestinal, pulmonary and renal blood vessels and severe meningeal haemorrhages. From a forensic pathology perspective, the subcutaneous emphysema of immediate onset after HBOT and the greater severity of the histological lesions in blood vessels, heart, lung and brain differentiate this case from other cases of gas embolism in turtles due to incidental capture. Two factors contributed to this outcome: the existence of a probably unresolved pneumocoelom and the application of HBOT without an initial diagnosis that accurately indicated its use. Therefore, as in human medicine, the use of HBOT in sea turtles with lung lesions and pneumocoelom is discouraged. This is the first description of an iatrogenic gas embolism in a sea turtle.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Suárez-Pérez
- Tafira Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Tafira Baja, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
| | - Jorge Orós
- Department of Morphology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Trasmontana s/n. 35413 Arucas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Garcia-Parraga D, Crespo-Picazo JL, Sterba-Boatwright B, Marco V, Muñoz-Baquero M, Robinson NJ, Stacy B, Fahlman A. New insights into risk variables associated with gas embolism in loggerhead sea turtles ( Caretta caretta) caught in trawls and gillnets. CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 11:coad048. [PMID: 37425482 PMCID: PMC10326834 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coad048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Tissue and blood gas embolism (GE) associated with fisheries bycatch are likely a widespread, yet underestimated, cause of sea turtle mortality. Here, we evaluated risk factors associated with tissue and blood GE in loggerhead turtles caught incidentally by trawl and gillnet fisheries on the Valencian coastline of Spain. Of 413 turtles (303 caught by trawl, 110 by gillnet fisheries), 54% (n = 222) exhibited GE. For sea turtles caught in trawls, the probability and severity of GE increased with trawl depth and turtle body mass. In addition, trawl depth and the GE score together explained the probability of mortality (P[mortality]) following recompression therapy. Specifically, a turtle with a GE score of 3 caught in a trawl deployed at 110 m had a P[mortality] of ~50%. For turtles caught in gillnets, no risk variables were significantly correlated with either the P[GE] or GE score. However, gillnet depth or GE score, separately, explained P[mortality], and a turtle caught at 45 m or with a GE score between 3 and 4 had a P[mortality] of 50%. Differences in the fishery characteristics precluded direct comparison of GE risk and mortality between these gear types. Although P[mortality] is expected to be significantly higher in untreated turtles released at sea, our findings can improve estimates of sea turtle mortality associated with trawls and gillnets, and help guide associate conservation efforts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Garcia-Parraga
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | - Jose Luis Crespo-Picazo
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | | | - Vicente Marco
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | - Marta Muñoz-Baquero
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
| | - Nathan J Robinson
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain
- Institut de Ciències del Mar, Spanish National Research Council - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Barcelona 08003, Spain
| | - Brian Stacy
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, University of Florida (Duty Station), PO Box 110885, 2187 Mowry Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
3
|
Analysis of risk factors associated with gas embolism and evaluation of predictors of mortality in 482 loggerhead sea turtles. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22693. [PMID: 34811412 PMCID: PMC8608947 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02017-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Sea turtles that are entrapped in static and towed nets may develop gas embolism which can lead to severe organ injury and death. Trawling characteristics, physical and physiologic factors associated with gas-embolism and predictors of mortality were analysed from 482 bycaught loggerheads. We found 204 turtles affected by gas-embolism and significant positive correlations between the presence of gas-embolism and duration, depth, ascent rate of trawl, turtle size and temperature, and between mortality and ascent time, neurological deficits, significant acidosis and involvement of > 12 cardiovascular sites and the left atrium and sinus venosus-right atrium. About 90% turtles with GE alive upon arrival at Sea Turtle Clinic recovered from the disease without any supportive drug therapy. Results of this study may be useful in clinical evaluation, prognostication, and management for turtles affected by gas-embolism, but bycatch reduction must become a priority for major international organizations. According to the results of the present study the measures to be considered to reduce the catches or mortality of sea turtles for trawling are to be found in the modification of fishing nets or fishing operations and in greater awareness and education of fishermen.
Collapse
|
4
|
Robinson NJ, García-Párraga D, Stacy BA, Costidis AM, Blanco GS, Clyde-Brockway CE, Haas HL, Harms CA, Patel SH, Stacy NI, Fahlman A. A Baseline Model For Estimating the Risk of Gas Embolism in Sea Turtles During Routine Dives. Front Physiol 2021; 12:678555. [PMID: 34539425 PMCID: PMC8440993 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.678555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Sea turtles, like other air-breathing diving vertebrates, commonly experience significant gas embolism (GE) when incidentally caught at depth in fishing gear and brought to the surface. To better understand why sea turtles develop GE, we built a mathematical model to estimate partial pressures of N2 (PN2), O2 (PO2), and CO2 (PCO2) in the major body-compartments of diving loggerheads (Caretta caretta), leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea), and green turtles (Chelonia mydas). This model was adapted from a published model for estimating gas dynamics in marine mammals and penguins. To parameterize the sea turtle model, we used values gleaned from previously published literature and 22 necropsies. Next, we applied this model to data collected from free-roaming individuals of the three study species. Finally, we varied body-condition and cardiac output within the model to see how these factors affected the risk of GE. Our model suggests that cardiac output likely plays a significant role in the modulation of GE, especially in the deeper diving leatherback turtles. This baseline model also indicates that even during routine diving behavior, sea turtles are at high risk of GE. This likely means that turtles have additional behavioral, anatomical, and/or physiologic adaptions that serve to reduce the probability of GE but were not incorporated in this model. Identifying these adaptations and incorporating them into future iterations of this model will further reveal the factors driving GE in sea turtles.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nathan J. Robinson
- Department of Research, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
| | - Daniel García-Párraga
- Department of Research, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
| | - Brian A. Stacy
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, University of Florida (duty station), Washington, DC, United States
| | | | - Gabriela S. Blanco
- Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos (IBIOMAR-CCT CONICET-CENPAT), Puerto Madryn, Argentina
| | | | - Heather L. Haas
- Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Woods Hole, MA, United States
| | - Craig A. Harms
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Center for Marine Sciences and Technology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Samir H. Patel
- Coonamessett Farm Foundation, East Falmouth, MA, United States
| | - Nicole I. Stacy
- Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Department of Research, Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
- Global Diving Research, Inc., Ottawa, ON, Canada
| |
Collapse
|