Project : Qualitative and quantitative assessment of the hematological profile of the stream turtle Phrynops hilarii (Reptilia: Testudine) in the southern region of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina.

Related objective: Contribution to the health knowledge of freshwater turtles (Reptilia, Testudines) present in the watercourses of the region.

Overview: Wetlands are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet; the numerous ecosystem services they provide to humans make them indispensable. They are considered cradles of biological diversity and sources of water and primary productivity upon which countless species depend for survival, including humans. However, they are also fragile and vulnerable ecosystems. In recent decades, a continuous loss and degradation of wetlands has been observed as a result of human activity, leading to changes in their composition and sedimentation, which can harm the health of people, domestic animals, and wildlife that depend on these habitats. Natural populations of freshwater turtles are threatened by multiple anthropogenic causes that lead to species decline (pet ownership, fires, habitat destruction and fragmentation, and persistent organic pollutants (POPs)), as well as by infectious and/or parasitic causes. It is well known that the presence of heavy metals and organochlorine compounds in aquatic ecosystems poses a significant threat to the health of the organisms that inhabit them, as these elements are poorly or not at all biodegradable and tend to accumulate in various tissues. Freshwater turtles are considered apex predators and can accumulate high concentrations of toxins through the consumption of their prey. In wild animals, symptoms of functional abnormalities in sick animals are often difficult to detect. In this regard, hematological and biochemical blood parameters serve as useful tools in the field of diagnostic medicine, being used for the health assessment of natural populations. They are particularly advantageous for determining potential pathologies in turtles, as these species rarely exhibit clinical signs of disease and are difficult to examine due to their shells, in addition to being especially sensitive to environmental variations. Differential leukocyte counts and erythrocyte morphological changes provide markers that facilitate specific diagnoses to determine health status and aspects of metabolism and physiology. Furthermore, evidence of genetic damage is an effective biomarker used as an early warning system to assess ecological risk. Thus, in wild species, micronucleus (MN) analysis is a widely used method as a biomarker of genotoxicity.

Related

Director: María Florencia David.

Members : Claudia Nigro; Cintia Manoni; María Carla Cortese and Alejandro Fallabrino.

Spaces/Institutions/Academic Units : Faculty of Veterinary Sciences (UNR) and Karumbé Marine Turtle Center of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay.

Contact

Mail: davidmaflorencia@fcv.unr.edu.ar

Networks: 

Facebook @anpflorindodonatiunr – @catedralibrefaunasilvestre – @silvestresnosonmascota