SYDNEY, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Australia's rehabilitated green sea turtle Nundi has been released into the ocean with a satellite tracker to help researchers understand a surge in sick, injured and diseased marine turtles.
The researchers analyzed Nundi's blood health and gut microbiome before releasing her off the state of Queensland's Fraser Coast to investigate links between disease and gut health, according to a statement released Friday by Australia's University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC).
"Turtles like Nundi are giving us vital information to better understand how we can increase the survival odds for rehabilitated turtles once they are returned to the ocean," said UniSC marine biologist Jacob Bowtell, who oversees sea turtle rehabilitation at Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital (AZWH).
UniSC researchers fitted the turtle with the tracking device after months of treatment at AZWH, where it recovered from a suspected case of the newly emerging Soft-Shell Syndrome which makes the turtle's shell sponge-like, and in some instances, exposes bare bone.
Ten rehabilitated sea turtles were fitted with satellite trackers to monitor their movements and foraging habits, assessing if they resume normal seagrass foraging patterns after recovery, Bowtell said.
The wasting disease outbreak, including Soft-Shell Syndrome, has been spreading rapidly in the Fraser Coast region, with more than 150 cases reported since the start of 2022.
Bowtell said over a decade ago he rarely saw sick or injured sea turtles at the hospital, but in the past three years, admissions have increased about 400 percent, with several illnesses contributing to an unprecedented increase in turtle strandings and deaths.
Volunteers in the Fraser Coast region have rescued more than 1,400 turtles over the past three years, though more than 360 turtles already deceased, the statement said.
For the first time, researchers will analyze AZWH's 20 years of data covering over 2,500 admitted sea turtles to identify long-term health trends and factors affecting turtle strandings and survival. ■
