disease assessment of the wood turtle (glyptemys insculpta
TRANSCRIPT
DiseaseAssessmentoftheWoodTurtle(Glyptemysinsculpta)inNewYorkStateSamanthaFontaine,AlexanderRobillard,DonnaVogler
SUNYOneonta,BiologyDepartment
Abstract:Thewoodturtle(Glyptemysinsculpta)isclassifiedasaspeciesofspecialconcernbytheNYSDEC.ToeffecJvelymanagethisspecies,allthreatstoitspopulaJonsmustbeknown.ThisincludesthepresenceofinfecJousdisease,anincreasinglysignificantcauseofbiodiversityloss.UrbanizaJoncanincreasewildlifediseaseprevalence,becauseelevatedstresslevelsreducediseaseresistance.ThisstudyaimstoassessdiseaseasaconservaJonconcerninNYSwoodturtles.Turtleswillbescreenedforthreesignificantpathogens;Mycoplasmaspp.,herpesvirusspp.,andranavirusspp.SwabsampleswillbeobtainedfromthreepopulaJonsfollowingaruraltourban(northtosouth)gradientthroughNYS.PCRanalysiswilldeterminepresenceorabsenceofeachdiseaseineachpopulaJonandprevalencerateswillbecalculated.StaJsJcalanalyseswillbepreformedtotestthehypothesisthatthemosturbanpopulaJonwillhavethehighestdiseaseprevalence.
Introduc@on• ThewoodturtleisaspeciesofspecialconcerninNYSandisunderreviewforafederallisJngbytheUSFWS• EmerginginfecJousdiseasesareasignificantthreattobiodiversityandurbanizaJonincreasesdiseaseprevalence• Thisstudywillscreen3NYSwoodturtlepopulaJonsfollowinganurbanizaJongradientfor3pathogenstoesJmatediseaseasaconservaJonconcern• Mycoplasmaagassiziiandtestudineum,herpesvirusspp.,andranavirusspp.areknowntocausemorbidityandmortalityinwildturtles
Discussion• OurresultssuggestMycoplasmainfecJoncouldposeathreattoOtsegoCountyturtles• MycoplasmainfecJoncausesUpperRespiratoryTractDiseaseandstresscanincreasevirulence(McGuireetal.2014)• Mycoplasmaspreadseasilyfromanimaltoanimal(McGuireetal.2014)• FurtherresultswilldetermineifdiseasethreatensotherpopulaJonsandifurbanizaJonincreasesprevalence• ThisinformaJonwillbedisseminatedtobiologistsworkingtoconserveNYSwoodturtlesinhopesthatitwillleadtobeYerinformedmanagement
Acknowledgements• ThankyouWillO’Connell,FriendsoftheGreatSwamp,A.Ross(NYSDEC),Dr.G.Johnson(SUNYPotsdam),andDr.MikeJonesforassistanceandcollaboraJon(UMASSAmherst)• WeacknowledgethesupportoftheHuyckPreserve,WesternNYHerpetologicalSociety,andtheSUNYOneontaFoundaJon
StudySites• StreamsinDutchess(urban),Otsego(intermediate),andSt.Lawrence(rural)CounJesMethods• 10woodturtlesat3sitesswabbedwithsterileswabsfall2015-present• Oral/cloacalswabssenttoResearchAssociatesLaboratory(DallasTX)forquanJtaJvePCRtesJng• Fisher’sexacttesttodetermineifstaJsJcallysignificantrelaJonshipexistsbetweenurbanizaJonlevelanddiseaseprevalenceResults• SamplessJllbeingcollected
Pathogen Samples Posi@veSamples
Prevalence
Ranavirus 10 0 0%Herpesvirus 10 0 0%M.agassizii 10 2 20%M.testudineum 10 4 40%
MapofNYstatecounJes.StudysiteslocatedinhighlightedcounJes.
ReferencesMcGuireJ.L.,SmithL.L.,GuyerC.,LockhartM.,LeeG.L.,YabsleyM.J.2014.SurveillanceforUpperRespiratoryTractDiseaseandMycoplasmainFree-rangingGopherTortoises(Gopheruspolyphemus)inGeorgiaUSA.JournalofWildlifeDiseases.50(4):733-744.
Table1.PreliminaryResultsfrom10OtsegoCountywoodturtles