Dataset Information

First data on microflora of loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nests from the coastlines of Sicily.

ABSTRACT: Caretta caretta is threatened by many dangers in the Mediterranean basin, but most are human-related. The purposes of this research were: (i) to investigate microflora in samples from six loggerhead sea turtle nests located on the Sicilian coast and (ii) to understand microbial diversity associated with nests, with particular attention to bacteria and fungi involved in failed hatchings. During the 2016 and 2018 summers, 456 eggs and seven dead hatchling from six nests were collected. We performed bacteriological and mycological analyses on 88 egg samples and seven dead hatchlings, allowing us to isolate: Fusarium spp. (80.6%), Aeromonas hydrophila (55.6%), Aspergillus spp. (27.2%) and Citrobacter freundii (9%). Two Fusarium species were identified by microscopy and were confirmed by PCR and internal transcribed spacer sequencing. Statistical analyses showed significant differences between nests and the presence/absence of microflora, whereas no significant differences were observed between eggs and nests. This is the first report that catalogues microflora from C . caretta nests/eggs in the Mediterranean Sea and provides key information on potential pathogens that may affect hatching success. Moreover, our results suggest the need for wider investigations over extensive areas to identify other microflora, and to better understand hatching failures and mortality related to microbial contamination in this important turtle species.

SUBMITTER: Gambino D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6994955 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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First data on microflora of loggerhead sea turtle (<i>Caretta caretta</i>) nests from the coastlines of Sicily.

Gambino Delia D Persichetti Maria Flaminia MF Gentile Antonino A Arculeo Marco M Visconti Giulia G Currò Vittoria V Caracappa Giulia G Crucitti Daniela D Piazza Antonio A Mancianti Francesca F Nardoni Simona S Vicari Domenico D Caracappa Santo S

Biology open 20200129 1

<i>Caretta caretta</i> is threatened by many dangers in the Mediterranean basin, but most are human-related. The purposes of this research were: (i) to investigate microflora in samples from six loggerhead sea turtle nests located on the Sicilian coast and (ii) to understand microbial diversity associated with nests, with particular attention to bacteria and fungi involved in failed hatchings. During the 2016 and 2018 summers, 456 eggs and seven dead hatchling from six nests were collected. We p ...[more]

PMID: 31915211

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Project description:Exploring a trade-off between quantity and quality of offspring allows differences in the fitness between alternative life histories to be accurately evaluated. We addressed the mechanism that maintains alternative life histories (small oceanic planktivores vs. large neritic benthivores) observed in a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) population, which has been suggested to be environmental, based on the lack of genetic structure and a large difference in reproductive output. We examined whether maternal foraging habitat affects offspring quality, by measuring the morphology, emergence success, and righting response of hatchlings following incubation in a common open sand area over the whole nesting season at Yakushima Island, Japan, and by recording early growth and survival of offspring that were reared in a common environment at a Japanese aquarium. Furthermore, we tested whether sea turtles adjust egg size in response to temporal shifts of the incubation environment. There were no significant differences in any hatchling traits between oceanic and neritic foragers (which were classified by stable isotope ratios), except for clutches laid during the warmest period of the nesting season. There were also no significant differences in the growth and survival of offspring originating from the two foragers. The size of eggs from both foragers significantly increased as the season progressed, even though the rookery had heavy rainfall, negating the need to counteract heat-related reduction in hatchling morphology. In comparison, the sizes of adult body and clutches from both foragers did not vary significantly. The results further support our previous suggestions that the size-related foraging dichotomy exhibited by adult sea turtles does not have a genetic basis, but derives from phenotypic plasticity. Adjustment in reproductive investment may be associated with: (1) predation avoidance, (2) founder effect, and/or (3) annual variation in egg size.

Dataset Information

First data on microflora of loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nests from the coastlines of Sicily.

Publications

First data on microflora of loggerhead sea turtle (<i>Caretta caretta</i>) nests from the coastlines of Sicily.

Similar Datasets

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