Decompression sickness ('the bends') in sea turtles

Data de publicació: 16/10/2014

Autors de IIS La Fe

Luis Martí Bonmatí

Autor

Autors aliens a IIS La Fe

Garcia-Parraga, D
Crespo-Picazo, JL
de Quiros, YB
Cervera, V
Diaz-Delgado, J
Arbelo, M
Moore, MJ
Jepson, PD
Fernandez, A

Grups d'Investigació

Investigacion Biomédica en Imagen (GIBI 2-30)

Investigador Principal

Leonor Cerdá Alberich

Abstract

Decompression sickness (DCS), as clinically diagnosed by reversal of symptoms with recompression, has never been reported in aquatic breath-hold diving vertebrates despite the occurrence of tissue gas tensions sufficient for bubble formation and injury in terrestrial animals. Similarly to diving mammals, sea turtles manage gas exchange and decompression through anatomical, physiological, and behavioral adaptations. In the former group, DCS-like lesions have been observed on necropsies following behavioral disturbance such as high-powered acoustic sources (e.g. active sonar) and in bycaught animals. In sea turtles, in spite of abundant literature on diving physiology and bycatch interference, this is the first report of DCS-like symptoms and lesions. We diagnosed a clinico-pathological condition consistent with DCS in 29 gas-embolized loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta from a sample of 67. Fifty-nine were recovered alive and 8 had recently died following bycatch in trawls and gillnets of local fisheries from the east coast of Spain. Gas embolization and distribution in vital organs were evaluated through conventional radiography, computed tomography, and ultrasound. Additionally, positive response following repressurization was clinically observed in 2 live affected turtles. Gas embolism was also observed postmortem in carcasses and tissues as described in cetaceans and human divers. Compositional gas analysis of intravascular bubbles was consistent with DCS. Definitive diagnosis of DCS in sea turtles opens a new era for research in sea turtle diving physiology, conservation, and bycatch impact mitigation, as well as for comparative studies in other air-breathing marine vertebrates and human divers.

Dades de la publicació

ISSN/ISSNe:: 0177-5103, 1616-1580
Tipus:: Article
Pàgines:: 191-205
DOI:: 10.3354/dao02790
PubMed:: 25320032
Factor d'Impacte:: 0,895 SCImago ℠
Quartil:: Q2 SCImago ℠

Documents

No hi ha documents

Mètriques

Filiacions

Garcia-Parraga, D:: Parques Reunidos Valencia, Vet Serv, Oceanografic, Valencia 46013, Spain
Crespo-Picazo, JL:: Parques Reunidos Valencia, Vet Serv, Oceanografic, Valencia 46013, Spain

Univ Complutense Madrid, Sch Vet, VISAVET Ctr, E-28040 Madrid, Spain

Univ Complutense Madrid, Sch Vet, Dept Anim Hlth, E-28040 Madrid, Spain
de Quiros, YB:: Univ Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Inst Anim Hlth, Arucas 35416, Las Palmas, Spain
Cervera, V:: Hosp Vet Valencia Sur, Valencia 46460, Spain
Marti-Bonmati, L:: Univ Hosp, Dept Radiol, Grp Invest Biomed Imagen GIBI230, Valencia 46026, Spain

Politecn La Fe, Valencia 46026, Spain
Diaz-Delgado, J:: Univ Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Inst Anim Hlth, Arucas 35416, Las Palmas, Spain
Arbelo, M:: Univ Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Inst Anim Hlth, Arucas 35416, Las Palmas, Spain
Moore, MJ:: Woods Hole Oceanog Inst, Dept Biol, Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA
Jepson, PD:: Zool Soc London, Inst Zool, London NW1 4RY, England
Fernandez, A:: Univ Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Inst Anim Hlth, Arucas 35416, Las Palmas, Spain