High prevalence of diseases in two invasive populations of red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans) in southwestern Spain
Non-native turtles are susceptible to pathogenic infections that may be transmitted to native species. We performed hematological, biochemical, histopathological, and microbiological analyses in two invasive populations of red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans), which were living alongside na...
| Autores: | , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2020 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/224820 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/224820 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Aquatic turtles Blood profile Health status Infectious agents Invasive species |
| Sumario: | Non-native turtles are susceptible to pathogenic infections that may be transmitted to native species. We performed hematological, biochemical, histopathological, and microbiological analyses in two invasive populations of red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans), which were living alongside native turtle species in southwestern Spain. The red-eared sliders that were captured had a healthy external appearance. However, the histopathological analyses revealed that up to 88% of these turtles had internal pathologies. The most common were hepatic lipidosis and chronic nephritis, which frequently co-occurred with each other or with pulmonary or pancreatic lesions. A high proportion of turtles were susceptible to infections caused by common bacteria in these habitats. We detected Herpesvirus, Mycoplasma spp. and more than 18 Gram-negative bacteria. The high prevalence of disease recorded in the two populations suggests that red-eared sliders are poorly suited to the conditions in their non-native range. |
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