Land Use, Macroalgae, and a Tumor-Forming Disease in Marine Turtles
Abstract
Wildlife diseases are an increasing concern for endangered species conservation, but
their occurrence, causes, and human influences are often unknown. We analyzed 3,939
records of stranded Hawaiian green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) over 28 years to understand
fibropapillomatosis, a tumor-forming disease linked to a herpesvirus. Turtle size
is a consistent risk factor and size-standardized models revealed considerable spatial
and temporal variability. The disease peaked in some areas in the 1990s, in some regions
rates remained constant, and elsewhere rates increased. Land use, onshore of where
the turtles feed, may play a role. Elevated disease rates were clustered in watersheds
with high nitrogen-footprints; an index of natural and anthropogenic factors that
affect coastal eutrophication. Further analysis shows strong epidemiological links
between disease rates, nitrogen-footprints, and invasive macroalgae and points to
foraging ecology. These turtles now forage on invasive macroalgae, which can dominate
nutrient rich waters and sequester environmental N in the amino acid arginine. Arginine
is known to regulate immune activity, promote herpesviruses, and contribute to tumor
formation. Our results have implications for understanding diseases in aquatic organisms,
eutrophication, herpesviruses, and tumor formation.
Type
Other articleSubject
green sea-turtleschelonia-mydas
hawaiian-islands
somatic growth
fibropapillomatosis
arginine
virus
herpesvirus
infection
region
biology
multidisciplinary sciences
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/4572Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1371/journal.pone.0012900Citation
Van Houtan,Kyle S.;Hargrove,Stacy K.;Balazs,George H.. 2010. Land Use, Macroalgae,
and a Tumor-Forming Disease in Marine Turtles. Plos One 5(9): e12900-e12900.
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