Literaturdatenbank
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Jones, C. A., Schwalbe, C. R., Swann, D. E., Prival, D. B., & Shaw, W. W. (2005). Mycoplasma agassizii in desert tortoises: Upper respiratory tract disease in captive and freeranging populations in greater tucson, arizona Final Report to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, AZ. Heritage Fund Urban Project No. U03005.
Added by: Admin (06 Jan 2014 18:22:53 UTC) |
| Resource type: Report/Documentation BibTeX citation key: Jones2005 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Bakterien - bacteria, Einzeller - protozoa, Gopherus agassizii, Habitat - habitat, Nordamerika - North America, Schildkröten - turtles + tortoises, Testudinidae, Veterinärmedizin - veterinary medicine Creators: Jones, Prival, Schwalbe, Shaw, Swann Publisher: Final Report to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, AZ. Heritage Fund Urban Project No. U03005 |
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| Abstract |
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Testudinidae Upper Respiratory Tract Disease (URTD), caused by the pathogen Mycoplasma agassizii, poses a critical threat to the Mojave population of the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). Release of captive tortoises into the wild has been implicated in the spread of the disease in the Mojave. However, little is known about URTD in the Sonoran population of the desert tortoise. To determine the distribution of URTD in Greater Tucson, Arizona we used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect antibodies indicating previous exposure to M. agassizii and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect M. agassizii antigens indicating a current infection. We collected blood and nasal lavage samples from 70 captive tortoises within Tucson and 138 free-ranging tortoises from 13 sites in 9 mountain ranges around Tucson, to compare results from 1) captive, 2) high-visitor impact, 3) suburban, and 4) remote populations to determine if there is an association between urbanization and distribution of Mycoplasma agassizii. We used radio-telemetry to determine home range sizes for tortoises at two sites in the Rincon Mountains, and then examined the association between ELISA results and home range size. We also determined the length of the active season for individual tortoises and examined the association between ELISA results and active season length. M. agassizii antibodies varied by tortoise site category, with a higher percentage of ELISA positive tortoises in suburban areas than remote areas (p = 0.03). Captive tortoises had a lower percentage of ELISA positive results than suburban tortoises (p = 0.04). ELISA results also varied by age class, with the percentage of juvenile tortoises testing negative for M. agassizii significantly higher than adult tortoises (p = 0.0001). We found no significant difference between ELISA positive and negative tortoises for 100% MCP (p = 0.89), 95% kernel (p = 0.35), or 50% kernel (p = 0.59) home range size estimates. There was no significant difference in mean length of active season between ELISA positive and negative tortoises (p = 0.63). Our data indicate that captive tortoises in the Tucson area do not serve as an important reservoir for URTD. However, disease incidence was highest in suburban areas, suggesting that urbanization has a negative impact on tortoise health. Additional studies are necessary to evaluate the mechanisms by which urbanization may affect desert tortoise disease, movement, thermal ecology, and survival.
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