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Neck injury in a white river turtle (Dematemys mawii)
Judith (pink shirt) and her team in Pantanos de Centla, capturing Dermatemys turtles.
A wild, healthy white river turtle.
Dermatemys blood as seen from a blood smear.
All images courtesy and copyright by Judith Rangel-Mendoza.
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Judith Rangel-Mendoza graduated last December with the Master of Sciences thesis "Hematology of wild and captive white turtles (Dermatemys mawii) in Tabasco, Mexico". Her study is an outstanding contribution to the scarse baseline information available for the health monitoring and conservation of this critically endangered species. A masnuscript with the major results was submitted to the Journal "Research in Veterinary Science" (Elsevier, impact factor 1.2).
Congratulations Judith!
Here the abstract of this research:
AbstractHematological and plasma biochemistry analyses were conduced on 51 Central American river turtles (Dermatemys mawii) during the dry (April-May) and rainy (September-October) seasons of 2006. Turtles came from two sites: Pantanos de Centla Biosphere Reserve and a turtle breeding farm, both located in Tabasco State, Mexico. Physical examination and body measures of animals were performed. Incidence and prevalence of hemoparasites were explored.Captive organisms (n = 29) were in poor physical condition and presented signs of illness while wild turtles (n = 22) were healthy. There were differences in several hematological parameters related with the condition and the season. During the dry season captive turtles exhibited higher levels of uric acid and urea, as well as lower levels of glucose. Haemogregarina sp. was detected in 100% of the wild individuals, but not in captives. Its incidence was greater during the rainy season. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first baseline health monitoring study of this critically endangered species.
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Judith Rangel Mendoza se graduó en Diciembre pasado de grado de Maestría con la tesis "Estudio Hematológico en poblaciones silvestres y cautivas de tortuga blanca (Dermatemys mawii) en Tabasco, México". Su estudio es una notable contribución al escaso conocimiento disponible para el monitoreo de la salud y conservación de esta especie en grave riesgo de extinción.
Felicidades Judith!.
