Re: chelonia
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Scott (and others interested) I can give you details concerning the chelonia mydas strandings in the panhandle of florida over the past month. Over the past several weeks 420 (as of last Monday) sea turtles have been brought in from the panhandle. All of these turtles were very lethargic. The majority of the turtles were chelonia mydas but the group also consisted of caretta caretta; all were juveniles. The problem was simple, cold stunned!! Sea turtles caught in waters that fall below 50 F for more than 5 days will enter a state of “shock” where their body will basically shut down. These turtles will be healthy and feeding normally but their body will just stop working. I can find references if you are interested but this happens every year in the New England area where Lepidochelys kempii will get caught in these cool temperatures. Dermochelys coriacea are known for their great ability of not entering this state of cold shock, these turtles have great adaptations for dealing with cold water and they can be found in waters as far north as Canada. If rescued in time, a simple recovery technique is to SLOWLY warm them up by placing them in clean aquarium water and gradually increasing the temperature (about 2 degrees per day). A basking light will also help after your water temp is warmed up and the turtle starts feeding again. If not rescued in time, the turtle will die. With this last event in Florida the majority of the turtles were saved and are doing well, many have already been released. Some of the turtles died in rehab and some of them were being fed upon by vultures on the sea surface. Many state officials and wonderful volunteers in the area donated a lot of time and effort in getting boats out to search for floating sea turtles. Phil Allman Environmental Specialist Collier County Natural Resources Naples, Florida 34112 —–Original Message—– From: howarsc@… [mailto:howarsc@…] Sent: Friday, January 26, 2001 8:26 AM To: diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com Subject: [diamondbackterrapins] Re: Turtle genetics question Phil, Thank you for the insight on the other species. I understand this is also very true for dbts. Fertility drops with successive clutches. A male from a couple years ago can easily share current offspring with a current mating male on the same female. I have only had 2 females that produced and could never have contacted more than one male. I have seen that male dbts get an eye for a certain female and follow her more than others. Olefactory cues seem to stimulate the males. In Graptemys, a female may have two or more males climbing on her at once and I have seen upto three males mate with a single female in a few minutes. Copulation in Graptemys and Malaclemys also is very, very short in duration. I have seen only a single publication with the description similar to what I have observed in activity and duration. I think it was observed by Carl Ernst. I will try to find this reference again. Phil, I also wanted to know if you know much about Chelonia mydas beaching in numbers during cold weather in N. FL, I think I heard the local gulf temperature dropped to around 50F. Many also were found dead if I’m not mistaken. Thanks, Scott — In diamondbackterrapins@y…, allman_p
Phil, Thanks for the info. One reason for an interest in some detail was the fact that most were Chelonia mydas and not Carreta. I thought Carreta over-whelmingly out numbered C. mydas along the panhandle. Also I have observed a similar occurence with macrospilota when exposed to unusually cool temperatures without days of acclimation. A 40-50F night after a day in the 80’s. I have seen ones I placed in a temporary tub outside from a 65-70F inside just go limp after temps in the water dropped below 55F. They cannot swim and seem to drown after a few hours. If they do survive then they usually have pneumonia. I have seen some tolerate below 50 when the water temp is “buffered” down slowly (over days). My next question for you would be if you are familar with any data on marsh temperatures at 12inches of substrate in the gulf from 10000 island area north to the panhandle. I think this could be interesting for some of us interested in the “subtropical” subspecies. Sensitivities to temperatures by C. mydas, pompano, permit, and snook; I just had some long standing questions without much supporting information on some others. Thanks, Scott — In diamondbackterrapins@y…, allman_p
Hi Scott, Sorry I will not be able to help you much with your questions. As far as marsh temperatures along the west coast of florida my best answer is to contact these agencies: Florida fish & wildlife conservation commission and NOAA. I know each of these agencies have “weather stations” in various locations and I think several of them are in the marsh/estuaries. Typically they sit them on channel markers. These weather stations usually monitor wind speeds, tidal flow, and water temperature. I think NOAA actually provides this data on a website. I don’t have specific phone numbers, I wish I could help more but I think this is a start. Don’t forget these are both public/government agencies so their data belongs to every citizen. Call these agencies and put in a data request, they will be happy to get this information for you (assuming they have it). Your question about sensitivities may be best answered about your own experiences you mentioned earlier. My guess is that the speed of the temperature change is more important than the actual temperature. As you mentioned, your turtles become ill after a quick drop in temperature from an 80F day. My guess is that if the water temperature decreased very slowly the turtles would be able to acclimate their self better and withstand cooler temperatures for longer periods of time. I’m not sure about fish. This is a nice discussion, I will try to locate some literature on temperature sensitivities in fish. I will get back with you on this. If I get temperature data I will also share this with you. I will continue to send our discussions to the entire group so everyone interested can read or delete. Phil Allman Environmental Specialist Collier County Natural Resources Naples, Florida 34112 —–Original Message—– From: howarsc@… [mailto:howarsc@…] Sent: Friday, January 26, 2001 10:13 AM To: diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com Subject: [diamondbackterrapins] Re: chelonia Phil, Thanks for the info. One reason for an interest in some detail was the fact that most were Chelonia mydas and not Carreta. I thought Carreta over-whelmingly out numbered C. mydas along the panhandle. Also I have observed a similar occurence with macrospilota when exposed to unusually cool temperatures without days of acclimation. A 40-50F night after a day in the 80’s. I have seen ones I placed in a temporary tub outside from a 65-70F inside just go limp after temps in the water dropped below 55F. They cannot swim and seem to drown after a few hours. If they do survive then they usually have pneumonia. I have seen some tolerate below 50 when the water temp is “buffered” down slowly (over days). My next question for you would be if you are familar with any data on marsh temperatures at 12inches of substrate in the gulf from 10000 island area north to the panhandle. I think this could be interesting for some of us interested in the “subtropical” subspecies. Sensitivities to temperatures by C. mydas, pompano, permit, and snook; I just had some long standing questions without much supporting information on some others. Thanks, Scott — In diamondbackterrapins@y…, allman_p
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