Publications

spatial distribution of epibionts on olive ridley sea turtles at playa ostional, costa rica.	there is a wealth of published information on the epibiont communities of sea turtles, yet many of these studies have exclusively sampled epibionts found only on the carapace. considering that epibionts may be found on almost all body-surfaces and that it is highly plausible to expect different regions of the body to host distinct epibiont taxa, there is a need for quantitative information on the spatial variation of epibiont communities on turtles. to achieve this, we measured how total epibion ...	2019	31490927
mercury concentration, dna methylation, and mitochondrial dna damage in olive ridley sea turtle embryos with schistosomus reflexus syndrome.	schistosomus reflexus syndrome (sr) is a rare and lethal congenital malformation that has been reported in the olive ridley sea turtle (lepidochelys olivacea) in mexico. although the etiology remains unclear, it is presumed to be genetic. since embryonic development in sea turtles largely depends on environmental conditions, we investigated whether sea turtle total mercury content participates in the etiology of sr. given that several toxins are known to affect both dna methylation and/or mitoch ...	2019	31434549
synchronised nesting aggregations are associated with enhanced capacity for extended embryonic arrest in olive ridley sea turtles.	sea turtle species in the genus lepidochelys exhibit an unusual behavioural polymorphism, nesting in both aggregations and solitarily. aggregated nesting events, termed 'arribadas', involve hundreds of thousands of females congregating at a single nesting beach over a few days to oviposit their eggs. aggregate and solitary nesting behaviours are associated with distinct inter-nesting intervals, three and four weeks for non-arribada and arribada nesters respectively. consequently, embryos are mai ...	2019	31278292
a novel host-adapted strain of salmonella typhimurium causes renal disease in olive ridley turtles (lepidochelys olivacea) in the pacific.	salmonella spp. are frequently shed by wildlife including turtles, but s. enterica subsp. enterica serovar typhimurium or lesions associated with salmonella are rare in turtles. between 1996 and 2016, we necropsied 127 apparently healthy pelagic olive ridley turtles (lepidochelys olivacea) that died from drowning bycatch in fisheries and 44 live or freshly dead stranded turtles from the west coast of north and central america and hawaii. seven percent (9/127) of pelagic and 47% (21/44) of strand ...	2019	31249336
first report of fibropapillomatosis in an olive ridley turtle lepidochelys olivacea from the southeastern pacific.	an adult olive ridley turtle lepidochelys olivacea with lesions suggestive of fibropapillomatosis was rescued on the coast of san antonio, central chile. histopathologic analysis showed an exophytic and pedunculated mass formed by epidermal papillary projections supported by fibrovascular cores, epidermal hyperplasia and marked orthokeratotic hyperkeratosis. chhv5 unique long genes ul27, ul28 and ul30 were amplified from tumor lesions and sequenced for phylogeny. phylogenetic reconstruction show ...	2019	31244483
first report of pyelosomum cochlear looss 1899 (digenea: pronocephalidae) in a hawksbill turtle - eretmochelys imbricata l. found in brazilian coast.	pyelosomum cochlear looss 1899 (digenea: pronocephalidae) is a parasite exclusive to sea turtles, having been described in the green turtle (chelonia mydas) in egypt, the usa, panama, costa rica and brazil as well as the olive ridley turtle (lepidochelys olivacea) in brazil. the present note describes the first occurrence of p. cochlear in a hawksbill turtle (eretmochelys imbricata) found on the coast of brazil.	2019	31708675
spatiotemporal expression of foxl2 and dmrt1 before, during, and after sex determination in the sea turtle lepidochelys olivacea.	the sex of sea turtles is determined by temperature during egg incubation. thus, climate change affects the sex ratio, exacerbating their vulnerability to extinction. understanding spatiotemporal effects of temperature on sex determination at the gonadal level may facilitate the design of strategies to mitigate the effects of global warming. here, we used qrt-pcr and immunofluorescence to analyze the spatiotemporal expression of dmrt1 and foxl2 in developing gonads of lepidochelys olivacea incub ...	2019	32396908
recent advances on the estimation of the thermal reaction norm for sex ratios.	temperature-dependent sex determination, or tsd, is a widespread phenomenon in reptiles. the shape of the relationship between constant incubation temperature and sex ratio defines the tsd pattern. the tsd pattern is considered a life-history parameter important for conservation because the wider the range of temperatures producing both sexes, the more resilient the species is to climate change impacts. we review the different published equations and methodologies that have been used to model ts ...	2020	32181050
blood oxygen stores of olive ridley sea turtles, lepidochelys olivacea are highly variable among individuals during arribada nesting.	sea turtles dive with a full lung of air and these o2 stores are supplemented by o2 stored in blood and muscle. olive ridley sea turtles exhibit polymorphic nesting behavior, mass nesting behavior called arribada, where thousands of turtles will nest at once, and solitary nesting behavior. the potential physiological differences between the individuals using these strategies are not well understood. we measured blood volume and associated variables, including blood hemoglobin content and hematoc ...	2020	33064209
spatiotemporal variation in lepidochelys olivacea sea turtle nests and their influence on the abundance and reproductive phenology of the sapro-necrophagous beetle omorgus suberosus.	the olive ridley sea turtle, lepidochelys olivacea (eschscholtz, 1829), nests en masse in the protected natural area of la escobilla, mexico. on this beach, omorgus suberosus (fabricius, 1775), a sapro-necrophagous beetle, feeds on the sea turtles' decomposing and live eggs and is considered to be a threat for the conservation of l. olivacea. however, the abundance and reproductive phenology of o. suberosus in relation to the spatial and temporal availability of this food resource are unknown. w ...	2020	33017032
large-scale connectivity, cryptic population structure, and relatedness in eastern pacific olive ridley sea turtles (lepidochelys olivacea).	endangered species are grouped into genetically discrete populations to direct conservation efforts. mitochondrial control region (mtcr) haplotypes are used to elucidate deep divergences between populations, as compared to nuclear microsatellites that can detect recent structuring. when prior populations are unknown, it is useful to subject microsatellite data to clustering and/or ordination population inference. olive ridley sea turtles (lepidochelys olivacea) are the most abundant sea turtle, ...	2020	32884651
optimized technique to extract and fix olive ridley turtle hatchling retina for histological study.	the efficient extraction and fixation of a tissue allows in preserving the cytoarchitecture, chemical composition and tissue organization, which is key in physiological and histopathological studies. the main goal of this study was to establish a microsurgery technique to obtain ocular tissue and provide an optimized immersion fixation protocol based on the 10 % formalin-intraocular injection on olive ridley sea turtle hatchlings (lepidochelys olivacea). to evaluate this optimized technique, a h ...	2020	32778246
introduction of developmental biology at utkal university, (odisha, india).	the paper deals with the background and the establishment of a developmental biology laboratory in utkal university in odisha state. it describes the process from a humble beginning with limited facilities into a leading research centre, initially for amphibians and later for the endangered olive ridley (lepidochelys olivacea) turtle. starting from the biology, reproduction and development in many anurans, the laboratory took up research on regeneration, especially on super-regeneration in tadpo ...	2020	32659019
comparative analysis of tear composition in humans, domestic mammals, reptiles, and birds.	tears are an important component of the ocular surface protection mechanism and are in close contact with the corneal epithelium and the environment. their composition is well-known in humans; however, there are few investigations on the composition and function of tears in reptiles, birds and others mammals, which would elucidate the mechanisms governing the maintenance of ocular homeostasis. in this work, electrophoretic profiles and an evaluation of total protein, albumin, urea, glucose, and ...	2020	32528986
in situ sem/eds compositional characterization of osteocytes and blood vessels in fossil and extant turtles on untreated bone surfaces; different preservational pathways microns away.	osteocytes and blood vessels are the main cellular and tissue components of the bone tissue of vertebrates. evidence of these soft-tissue microstructures has been widely documented in the fossil record of mesozoic and cenozoic turtles. however, all these studies have characterized morphologically and elementally these microstructures via isolation from the fossilized bone matrix where they were preserved or in ground sections, which could raise skepticism about the results due to potential cross ...	2020	32913685
comparative cytogenetics of four sea turtle species (cheloniidae): g-banding pattern and in situ localization of repetitive dna units.	sea turtles are considered flagship species for marine biodiversity conservation and are considered to be at varying risk of extinction globally. cases of hybridism have been reported in sea turtles, but chromosomal analyses are limited to classical karyotype descriptions and a few molecular cytogenetic studies. in order to compare karyotypes and understand evolutive mechanisms related to chromosome dif-ferentiation in this group, chelonia mydas, caretta caretta, eretmochelys imbricata, and lepi ...	2020	33120383
newly emerging diseases of marine turtles, especially sea turtle egg fusariosis (seft), caused by species in the fusarium solani complex (fssc).	sea turtles are presently considered severely endangered species that are historically threatened by many environmental factors. recently, additional threats to sea turtles from two pathogenic species of fungi in the fusarium solani species complex (f. falciforme and f. keratoplasticum) have been identified. these species infect marine turtle eggs, causing sea turtle egg fusariosis, and kill their embryos, with recent reports of hatch-failure in seven globally distributed species of endangered s ...	2020	33062381
ocular ultrasonography of sea turtles.	environmental changes contribute to the development of ophthalmic diseases in sea turtles, but information on their eye biometrics is scarce. the aim of this study was to describe ophthalmic ultrasonographic features of four different sea turtle species; caretta caretta (loggerhead turtle; n = 10), chelonia mydas (green turtle; n = 8), eretmochelys imbricata (hawksbill turtle; n = 8) and lepidochelys olivacea (olive ridley; n = 6) under human care. corneal thickness, scleral ossicle width and th ...	2020	32912266
environmental and anthropogenic factors affecting nesting site selection by sea turtles.	understanding the environmental and anthropogenic factors that affect nesting site selection by sea turtles is key to maintaining priority conservation areas. the species lepidochelys olivacea, caretta caretta, and eretmochelys imbricata nest annually on the island of comandatuba (una, northeastern brazil), where this survey was conducted. we evaluated the temporal and spatial distribution of nests during the seasons 2008/2009 to 2014/2015 and 2017/2018. in the last season, we further examined t ...	2020	32836012
combined use of mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers further reveal immature marine turtle hybrids along the south western atlantic.	marine turtle hybridization is usually sporadic and involves reports of only a few individuals; however, brazilian populations have high hybridization rates. here we investigated the presence of hybrids in morphologically identified immature hawksbills (eretmochelys imbricata) along the south western atlantic (swa). we sequenced one mitochondrial (d-loop) and three nuclear dna (rag1, rag2, and cmos) markers to better understand the patterns and characteristics of hybrids. we identified 22 hybrid ...	2020	32353097