BURMESE ROOFED TURTLE (BATAGUR TRIVITTATA) DISEASE SCREENING IN MYANMAR.

The Burmese roofed turtle (Batagur trivittata), a critically endangered freshwater turtle, is endemic to Myanmar. Once thought to be extinct, remnant wild populations were discovered in 2001 and limited captive individuals identified in pagoda ponds or confiscated from fishers in Myanmar. These and their offspring are maintained in five facilities in Myanmar and form the basis of a conservation program (habitat protection, captive breeding, nest protection, egg collection, head-starting, and release). Prerelease health screenings were performed in 2014 and 2018 at Yadanabon Zoological Gardens, a head-starting facility in Limpha Village, and Lawkanandar Wildlife Park. One hundred forty-three turtles were assessed (37 male, 50 female, 56 juveniles [too young to determine sex]; two females were assessed in both years), age range of 1 to 12 y (one unknown age adult founder), and body mass range of 0.111 to 32.72 kg. Health evaluations both years included physical examination and combined choanal/cloacal swab samples for polymerase chain reaction testing of the potential chelonian pathogens intranuclear coccidia, Mycoplasma, Herpesvirus, Ranavirus, and Adenovirus (not all tests performed each year). In 2018, cloacal swabs from 30 and 20 turtles at the Yadanabon Zoological Gardens and Lawkanandar Wildlife Park, respectively, were cultured for Salmonella. All turtles were assessed as healthy based on normal physical examination findings, and all had negative test results. Prerelease health screening, such as performed in this study, is an important component of release, reintroduction, and translocation projects to prevent introduction of novel pathogens into naïve wild populations.

Turtles and Tortoises Are in Trouble.

Turtles and tortoises (chelonians) have been integral components of global ecosystems for about 220 million years and have played important roles in human culture for at least 400,000 years. The chelonian shell is a remarkable evolutionary adaptation, facilitating success in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Today, more than half of the 360 living species and 482 total taxa (species and subspecies combined) are threatened with extinction. This places chelonians among the groups with the highest extinction risk of any sizeable vertebrate group. Turtle populations are declining rapidly due to habitat loss, consumption by humans for food and traditional medicines and collection for the international pet trade. Many taxa could become extinct in this century. Here, we examine survival threats to turtles and tortoises and discuss the interventions that will be needed to prevent widespread extinction in this group in coming decades.

Last exit before the brink: Conservation genomics of the Cambodian population of the critically endangered southern river terrapin.

The southern river terrapin, Batagur affinis is one of the world's 25 most endangered freshwater turtle species. The major portion of the global population is currently found in peninsular Malaysia, with the only remnant Indochinese population in southern Cambodia. For more than a decade, wild nests in this remnant Cambodian population have been fenced and hatchlings reared in captivity. Here we amplified 10 microsatellite markers from all 136 captive individuals, obtained 2,658 presumably unlinked and neutral single nucleotide polymorphisms from 72 samples with ddRAD-seq, and amplified 784 bp of mtDNA from 50 samples. Our results reveal that the last Indochinese population comprised only four kinship groups as of 2012, with all offspring sired from <10 individuals in the wild. We demonstrate an obvious decrease in genetic contributions of breeders in the wild from 2006-2012 and identify high-value breeders instrumental for ex-situ management of the contemporary genetic stock of the species.

DISEASE SCREENING IN SOUTHERN RIVER TERRAPINS ( BATAGUR AFFINIS EDWARDMOLLI) IN CAMBODIA.

Southern River terrapins ( Batagur affinis) are among the most critically endangered turtles in the world. To augment the Cambodia population, a head-start program was established for the endemic subspecies Batagur affinis edwardmolli in 2006, and in 2015, prerelease health assessments were performed on 70 subadults (hatch years, 2006-2011). Combined choanal/cloacal swab samples ( n = 70) were collected and screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Mycoplasma, herpesvirus, and ranavirus. Cloacal samples ( n = 50) were also collected and cultured for Salmonella sp. Of 70 tested samples, six (8.6%) were positive for Mycoplasma, and all other PCR and culture test results were negative. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene placed the Mycoplasma sp. from B. affinis edwardmolli in the chelonian Mycoplasma cluster that groups within the Mycoplasma pulmonis clade. This mollicute was not associated with clinical disease (defined as observable clinical abnormalities, such as depression, lethargy, respiratory signs, and anorexia) and is likely part of the endemic microbial flora of these terrapins.