The first case of Spiroxys contortus in European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) in the wild in Poland.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Demkowska-Kutrzepa M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8332368 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Few species of reptiles are known to establish stable social structures and among these, chelonians provided scarce and conflicting results. Moreover, studies on turtles are usually performed on adult individuals. In this study, we checked whether and when hatchlings of the European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis galloitalica) established stable hierarchical structures in their first year of life, whether hierarchies were stable in time and how steady they were. We also verified whether social ranks were associated to the individuals' size. We observed dyadic interactions daily within three small groups of turtles reared in a controlled environment for seven months. After two months, the hatchlings started to interact and progressively established stable hierarchical structures. However, the effectiveness of the three types of observed aggressive behaviors in reversing social ranks was low and the resulting hierarchies were flat. We did not find a significant effect of the turtles' size on their interactions' outcome and hierarchy structure. Our results provide clear evidence of the development and the characteristics of social behaviors in young reptiles in captivity. This study could be a starting point for investigating social structures in wild populations.
| S-EPMC7552232 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The aim of this study was to determine optimal body mass/length ratios of Emys orbicularis before hibernation. We obtained 213 measurements of wild-caught and captive-bred turtles during 9 years (2011-2019) and determined regression curves that show intervals for optimal or suboptimal body mass/length ratios before winter dormancy. Using this data we designed an online calculator that facilitates the process of establishing if a turtle has an optimal body mass/length ratio before hibernation. We also gathered 45 measurements at the end of the hibernation period which showed an average body mass loss of 5.32%. The present study offers practical means of assessing if an Emys orbicularis individual is fit for hibernation.
| S-EPMC8322291 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe conservation of aquatic and semiaquatic turtles requires knowledge of the area and vegetation structure of habitat used for nesting, and nesting migration route. We aimed to survey the effects of habitat features to the nest site selection, nesting success, and test the possibility of nest site fidelity. Our study was carried out at 10 different nesting areas, with special emphasis on data from returning females in a pond system in Hungary between 2014 and 2017.ResultsMost nesting attempts were found in closed sand steppes, uncharacteristic dry and semi-dry grasslands habitat patches. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed that increased sandy soil cover, sunlight and slope were important variables in nest site choice. The increasing PCA first axis score significantly increased the chance of an emergence. The degradation of open steppe vegetation, occurrence of weeds, invasive and disturbance tolerant species have a negative effect on the selection of nest sites. We observed that 96.55% of nests were located within 20 m south of a pine forest at preferred nest site at pond 5, which provided the right incubation temperature through partial shading. The returning females nested significantly closer to the northern pine forest than the single clutch females. Most probably the returning females already has the necessary experience to select the right nesting site. The individually marked females did not choose new nesting areas during the monitored years which suggests nesting area fidelity, but we did not find nest site fidelity.ConclusionThe maintenance of mosaic habitat structure, slowing down the succession process at the nesting area should be basic priorities in European pond turtle conservation programs. We suggested a spatial and temporal scheduling of land management and agricultural work to the local farmers. If the actual nest site is in an agricultural area, all work should be avoided throughout the year. Agricultural machinery should avoid the migration routes of adult turtles and emerged hatchlings during the concerned period. Under strong predation pressure, predator control should be carried out, and use nest protection.
| S-EPMC11318129 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The aim of the study was to isolate and identify species belonging to the Aeromonas genus and evaluate the antimicrobial resistance and virulence patterns of isolates colonizing European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) from natural environment of Eastern Poland. In total, 74 turtles and 15 samples of water from their natural environment were examined. More than 40 strains were isolated and identified: A. bestiarum (n = 1), A. hydrophila (n = 13), A. allosaccharophila (n = 2), A. salmonicida (n = 3), and A. veronii (n = 23). The highest incidence of resistance was noted for ampicillin (100%) and sulfamethoxazole (62.0%), followed by erythromycin and colistin (both 40.5%). Moreover, eight strains were intermediately resistant to meropenem (19%). Most Aeromonas isolates were found to possess more than one virulence gene among fla, aer, hlyA, act, ela, alt, and ast. We showed that the population of free-living European pond turtles was highly colonized by Aeromonas spp. Such strains may be an infectious agent not only for the population of turtles but also for other species of animals inhabiting their natural environment. Moreover, the undesirable properties of water quality caused by the presence of drug-resistant aeromonads could have a negative impact on human health.
| S-EPMC8532793 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Infections with intravascular digenean trematodes of the Spirorchiidae family (spirorchiidoses) are of great conservation concern both in marine and freshwater turtles due to their pathogenic potential. Between 2014 and 2021, Spirorchis sp. infections associated with granulomatous inflammation and sudden death were detected in European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) from three conservation breeding facilities in Switzerland. Blood fluke eggs associated with lesions were found in the intestine, spleen, testis, skeletal musculature, heart, kidneys, stomach, pancreas, liver, lung, and meninges from nine pond turtles submitted for necropsy and in the intestinal content from five of these animals. Two novel polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) targeting the 28S ribosomal RNA gene and the ITS2 region and subsequent sequencing revealed 100% nucleotide identity with a Spirorchis sp. previously isolated from an Escambia map turtle (Graptemys ernsti) in the USA. Our findings suggest a spill-over event secondary to direct or indirect contact with invasive North American turtle species in Switzerland. We describe the clinical, haematological, ultrasonographical, endoscopical, parasitological, pathological, and molecular findings associated with spirorchiid blood fluke infections of the Spirorchis genus in E. orbicularis, as well as the biosecurity measures that were developed to prevent the spread of this parasite among breeding and highly endangered free-ranging E. orbicularis populations in Switzerland.
| S-EPMC8777241 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Hybrid zones are natural laboratories allowing insights in genetic processes like lineage diversification, speciation and introgression. Using large sampling, 15 microsatellite loci and a mitochondrial marker, we examined the Pyrenean contact zone of three pond turtle taxa (Emys orbicularis orbicularis, E. o. galloitalica, E. o. occidentalis). The Pyrenees are a biogeographically important region separating many lineages endemic to the Iberian Peninsula from their Western European counterparts. We discovered limited admixture, reflecting a complex biogeographic scenario. Simulations using Approximate Bayesian Computing supported that E. o. orbicularis invaded the Iberian Peninsula in the Holocene, circumventing the Pyrenees along the Mediterranean coast, and hybridized in the northern peninsula with the local coastal subspecies galloitalica, and to a lesser extent, with occidentalis. While E. o. occidentalis, and in particular E. o. orbicularis, expanded their ranges considerably during Holocene warming, E. o. galloitalica remained largely confined to its former Iberian refuge. Admixture among the three taxa is surprisingly low, and a future taxonomic investigation that includes the unstudied subspecies of E. orbicularis from North Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia has to determine whether their current status properly reflects their evolutionary divergence or whether certain taxa should be regarded as full species.
| S-EPMC6206128 | biostudies-literature
Project description:High-throughput sequencing has become an accurate method for the identification of species present in soil, water, faeces, gut or stomach contents. However, information at the species level is limited due to the choice of short barcodes and based on the idea that DNA is too degraded to allow longer sequences to be amplified. We have therefore developed a long DNA metabarcoding method based on the sequencing of short reads followed by de novo assembly, which can precisely identify the taxonomic groups of organisms associated with complex diets, such as omnivorous individuals. The procedure includes 11 different primer pairs targeting the COI gene, the large subunit of the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase gene, the maturase K gene, the 28S rRNA and the trnL-trnF chloroplastic region. We validated this approach using 32 faeces samples from an omnivorous reptile, the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis, L. 1758). This metabarcoding approach was assessed using controlled experiments including mock communities and faecal samples from captive feeding trials. The method allowed us to accurately identify prey DNA present in the diet of the European pond turtles to the species level in most of the cases (82.4%), based on the amplicon lengths of multiple markers (168-1,379 bp, average 546 bp), and produced by de novo assembly. The proposed approach can be adapted to analyse various diets, in numerous conservation and ecological applications. It is consequently appropriate for detecting fine dietary variations among individuals, populations and species as well as for the identification of rare food items.
| S-EPMC7821331 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Due to the presence of a blastopore as in amphibians, the turtle has been suggested to exemplify a transition form from an amphibian- to an avian-type gastrulation pattern. In order to test this hypothesis and gain insight into the emergence of the unique characteristics of amniotes during gastrulation, we have performed the first molecular characterization of the gastrula in a reptile, the turtle Emys orbicularis. The study of Brachyury, Lim1, Otx2 and Otx5 expression patterns points to a highly conserved dynamic of expression with amniote model organisms and makes it possible to identify the site of mesoderm internalization, which is a long-standing issue in reptiles. Analysis of Brachyury expression also highlights the presence of two distinct phases, less easily recognizable in model organisms and respectively characterized by an early ring-shaped and a later bilateral symmetrical territory. Systematic comparisons with tetrapod model organisms lead to new insights into the relationships of the blastopore/blastoporal plate system shared by all reptiles, with the blastopore of amphibians and the primitive streak of birds and mammals. The biphasic Brachyury expression pattern is also consistent with recent models of emergence of bilateral symmetry, which raises the question of its evolutionary significance.
| S-EPMC2442194 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The eight-year study (2015-2023) was performed on a large sample of poached European pond turtles infected with Haemogregarina stepanowi and held in a pond that belongs to a quarantine section of Belgrade Zoo. The protected species of European pond turtles have been found in poor health, with general weakness, anorexia, and low motility. Comprehensive cytological, hematological, molecular, and postmortem evaluations have been performed. Initially, Diff Quick staining of the blood smears revealed rounded or elongated erythrocytes, often bearing premeront or U-shaped gamont of the hemogregarines inside. The reduced erythrocyte numbers, hemoglobin, and hematocrit values found in the examined population of infected turtles indicated anemia. Macroscopically, shell necrosis and massive skin hemorrhages were the most prominent findings observed in diseased turtles. Microscopically, the lungs, liver, kidneys, and spleen revealed hyperemia, hemorrhages, and the presence of parasitic stages in tissue samples in 31 of 40 necropsied turtles. Cytological and microscopic examination of the samples proved to be sufficient for establishing the infection, but molecular analyses of the 18S sequence were used for phylogenetic studies. Over the years, the number of diseased and dead turtles has decreased, which could be hypothetically attributed to the elimination of leeches as the definitive host.
| S-EPMC10416920 | biostudies-literature
Project description:DNA metabarcoding of European turtles (Emys orbicularis) faeces Raw sequence reads
| PRJNA546135 | ENA