| pathology of upper respiratory tract disease of gopher tortoises in florida. | between august 1993 and september 1995, 24 gopher tortoises (gopherus polyphemus) were received for pathological evaluations from various locations in florida (usa). all tortoises were examined for clinical signs of upper respiratory tract disease (urtd) including nasal and ocular discharge, palpebral edema, and conjunctivitis. of the 24 tortoises, 10 had current or previously observed clinical signs of urtd and 14 did not. a blood sample was drawn for detection of anti-mycoplasma antibodies by ... | 2000 | 10813609 |
| ranavirus infection of free-ranging and captive box turtles and tortoises in the united states. | iridoviruses of the genus ranavirus are well known for causing mass mortality events of fish and amphibians with sporadic reports of infection in reptiles. this article describes five instances of ranavirus infection in chelonians between 2003 and 2005 in georgia, florida, new york, and pennsylvania, usa. affected species included captive burmese star tortoises (geochelone platynota), a free-ranging gopher tortoise (gopherus polyphemus), free-ranging eastern box turtles (terrapene carolina carol ... | 2008 | 18957641 |
| upper respiratory tract disease, force of infection, and effects on survival of gopher tortoises. | upper respiratory tract disease (urtd) caused by mycoplasma agassizii has been hypothesized to contribute to the decline of some wild populations of gopher tortoises (gopherus polyphemus). however, the force of infection (foi) and the effect of urtd on survival in free-ranging tortoise populations remain unknown. using four years (2003-2006) of mark-recapture and epidemiological data collected from 10 populations of gopher tortoises in central florida, usa, we estimated the foi (probability per ... | 2009 | 19425439 |
| development and use of an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of iridovirus exposure in gopher tortoises (gopherus polyphemus) and eastern box turtles (terrapene carolina carolina). | iridoviruses, pathogens typically associated with fish and amphibians, have recently been shown to cause acute respiratory disease in chelonians including box turtles, red-eared sliders, gopher tortoises, and burmese star tortoises. case reports of natural infections in several chelonian species in the united states have been reported, however the prevalence remains unknown in susceptible populations of free-ranging chelonians. to determine the prevalence of iridovirus exposure in free-ranging g ... | 2010 | 19931321 |
| effects of mycoplasmal upper respiratory tract disease on morbidity and mortality of gopher tortoises in northern and central florida. | gopher tortoise (gopherus polyphemus) populations on four tracts of public lands in northern and central florida were studied from 1998 to 2001 to assess the effects of mycoplasmal upper respiratory tract disease (urtd). adult gopher tortoises (n=205) were marked for identification, serum and nasal flush samples were obtained for mycoplasmal diagnostic assays, and clinical signs of urtd (nasal discharge, ocular discharge, palpebral edema, and conjunctivitis) were evaluated. a subset of tortoises ... | 2010 | 20688675 |
| insights into the introduction history and population genetic dynamics of the nile monitor (varanus niloticus) in florida. | invasive species are widely recognized as important drivers of the ongoing biodiversity crisis. the us state of florida is especially susceptible to the proliferation of invasive reptiles, and nonnative lizards currently outnumber native lizard species. at present, there are 3 documented breeding populations of the nile monitor (varanus niloticus) in different regions of southern florida, and these populations are considered potential dangers to threatened, fossorial endemics, such as burrowing ... | 2016 | 26971010 |
| estimates of minimum patch size depend on the method of estimation and the condition of the habitat. | minimum patch size for a viable population can be estimated in several ways. the density-area method estimates minimum patch size as the smallest area in which no new individuals are encountered as one extends the arbitrary boundaries of a study area outward. the density-area method eliminates the assumption of no variation in density with size of habitat area that accompanies other methods, but it is untested in situations in which habitat loss has confined populations to small areas. we used a ... | 2007 | 17601133 |
| respiratory and pharyngo-esophageal iridovirus infection in a gopher tortoise (gopherus polyphemus). | a free-living adult male gopher tortoise (gopherus polyphemus) was found on sanibel island, florida (usa), on 18 february 1992 with signs of upper respiratory disease. on necropsy after euthanasia on 27 february 1992, severe, extensive necrotizing ulcerative tracheitis, multifocal necrotizing pneumonia, and multifocal necrotizing ulcerative pharyngitis and esophagitis were observed. large ovoid to round intracytoplasmic basophilic inclusions, which appeared to displace the nucleus to the cell pe ... | 1996 | 9359071 |
| intraspecific phylogeography of the gopher tortoise, gopherus polyphemus: rflp analysis of amplified mtdna segments. | the slow rate of mtdna evolution in turtles poses a limitation on the levels of intraspecific variation detectable by conventional restriction fragment surveys. we examined mtdna variation in the gopher tortoise (gopherus polyphemus) using an alternative restriction assay, one in which pcr-amplified segments of the mitochondrial genome were digested with tetranucleotide-site endonucleases. restriction fragment polymorphisms representing four amplified regions were analysed to evaluate population ... | 1995 | 8564009 |