Evaluation of hematological and plasma biochemical parameters in green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas Linnaeus, 1758) from nesting colonies of the northern coast the Sea of Oman

Abstract

The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) has been a species of global concern for decades. As an attempt to study health status of nesting green turtles, Blood biochemistry and hematological values were obtained from 18 clinically normal, nesting female green sea turtles on the northern coast of the sea of Oman. Mean curved carapace length (CCL) was 111±4 cm with a range of 103—122 cm. Barnacles were recorded on three turtles. No fibropapillomas were observed on any of the 18 turtle. The mean PCV was 0.41 (proportion of 1) with a range of 0.30–0.58. No basophils or hemoparasites were detected in any of the 18 turtles tested. All biochemistry and hematological values of green sea turtles were within published reference ranges of healthy sea turtle population. No statistically significant differences were noted between the two anticoagulants for Plasma biochemistry values. Plasma alpha–tocopherol concentrations in the 18 turtles tested was 7.8±2.8 g ml-1 with a range of 0.5-11.8 g ml-1. Plasma retinol was evaluated in 18 turtles and the concentration was 0.4 ±0.1 g ml-1 with a range of 0.2-0.6 g ml-1. The present study provides baseline data of the green sea turtle characterized by biological and non-biological factors, which may provide the basis for future studies.