I have observed an increase in buoyancy disorders in marine turtles during oil spills. I was unable to find a clear link between the two from the literature that I have available. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
Fadi,
Have you noticed whether the sea turtles that have been exposed to oil are also suffering from fibropapilloma? These viral tumors would be clearely visible and they are known to affect buoyancy in turtles that exhibit this disease.
The ingestion of small tarballs will probably have a variety of effects from gut blockage to interfering with physiological processes that eventually may cause buildup of fermentation gasses in the turtle gut and that may affect buoyancy. The following NOAA report adresses these effects:
http://www.environmentalunit.com/Documentation/04%20Resources%20at%20Risk/NOAA%20Sea%20Turtles.pdf
You may also find the following two links interesting:
https://www2.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/owcn/kids/kids-effects/turtles.cfm
https://conserveturtles.org/information-sea-turtles-threats-oil-spills/
Tomas
Dear Mr. Fadi Yaghmour,
Sea turtles suffer from a variety of issues which can and do lead to buoyancy disorders, oil is one of them. Ingestion of oil globules may take place while swimming, emerging from nest, while nesting or ingesting oil contaminated food but the actual disturbance in buoyancy depends on the accumulation of said oil in specific parts of the turtle's body. Intracoelomic build up of oil and then decomposed gas, as pointed out by Tomas, is a major cause of such disorders. Apart from that oil/gas induced dilation of intestines through indigestion or constipation, or oil induced infection in intestine leading to buoyancy disorders are also known cases. Turtles suffering from such conditions may force themselves between rocks to stop floating up while grazing or resting, a term known as 'Corking'. Sea turtles' preference to feed near the convergence zones, such as in areas of upwelling/downwelling render them vulnerable to oil spillage as spilled oil tends to accumulate in these regions more.
I hope these answers satisfy you. To study in depth the physiology of sea turtles exposed to oil spills, simply focus on their behavioural notes such as beaching, corking etc.
Best wishes,
Dr. Abhishek Mukherjee
Dear Tomas (Tom) Tomascik,
Thank you for sharing these very helpful links. Fortunately we have not seen any evidence of fibropapilloma virus in any of the marine turtles examined from the Gulf of Oman.
Thank you Abhishek Mukherjee for your detailed and valuable comments!
sure they suffer . primarily difficulties in respiration , and problems in buoyancy
Oil from spills and leaks that sit on the surface of the water doesn’t really stick to sea turtles like it would to other marine species. But oil can get in their eyes, on their skin, and in their lungs when they come to the surface to breathe. Although turtles maybe the toughest in terms of resisting some of the immediate physical damage from oil spills, they have proved to be more vulnerable to chemical exposure that happens indirectly through the food they eat. Not only do larger spills pose a problem for the turtles, studies have shown that continuous exposure over time will weaken a sea turtle’s overall health, making it more susceptible to other dangers.
- Badges
- Science method
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Ecology