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5 September 2024 HEALTH ASSESSMENT OF SPOTTED (CLEMMYS GUTTATA) AND PAINTED (CHRYSEMYS PICTA) TURTLES IN CAPE COD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A, WITH DETECTION OF A NOVEL ADENOVIRUS
Lauren M. Vincent, Matthew C. Allender, Annie E. Curtis, John C. Garrison, Stacey Lance, Adam McFall, Amber Simmons, Kaitlin Moorhead, Laura Adamovicz
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Abstract

Freshwater turtles face numerous anthropogenic threats worldwide. Health assessments are a key component of chelonian population assessment and monitoring but are under reported in many species. The purpose of this study was to characterize the health of spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata; n = 30) and painted turtles (Chrysemys picta; n = 24) at Camp Edwards, a military base in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, using physical examinations, hematology, plasma heavy metal analyses, and pathogen surveillance via PCR. Spotted turtles had a high prevalence of carapace (n = 27, 90%) and plastron (n = 14, 46.7%) lesions, and a previously undescribed adenovirus was detected in three animals (proposed as Clemmys adenovirus-1). Female painted turtles had lower plasma copper (p = 0.012) and higher strontium (p = 0.0003) than males, and appeared to be in a similar plane of health to previous reports. This initial health assessment effort provides useful baseline data for future comparison in these species. Conservation efforts on Camp Edwards should incorporate continued health surveillance of these populations to identify intervention opportunities and determine the conservation threats, if any, of the novel adenovirus.

Lauren M. Vincent, Matthew C. Allender, Annie E. Curtis, John C. Garrison, Stacey Lance, Adam McFall, Amber Simmons, Kaitlin Moorhead, and Laura Adamovicz "HEALTH ASSESSMENT OF SPOTTED (CLEMMYS GUTTATA) AND PAINTED (CHRYSEMYS PICTA) TURTLES IN CAPE COD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A, WITH DETECTION OF A NOVEL ADENOVIRUS," Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 55(3), 743-749, (5 September 2024). https://doi.org/10.1638/2023-0141
Accepted: 15 May 2024; Published: 5 September 2024
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