Grant: 23-003C
Project Title: Support for Critically Ill Sea Turtles in Rehabilitation
Project Manager: Heather Barron, DVM, DABVP, CertAqV
Organization: Loggerhead Marinelife Center (Non-Profit Organization)
Grant Amount: $3,461.00
Completion Date: 2024-03-18
Summary: The Rehabilitation Department at Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) has historically treated over 100 juvenile to adult sea turtle patients and thousands of hatchlings annually. However, LMC has just completed a large campus expansion, which has doubled our capacity to accept patients, in addition to allowing us to accept patients that are fibropapilloma positive. Due to this increased capacity, we expect to respond to more strandings and accept more patients. In any given year, we respond to both live and dead sea turtle strandings across 80 miles of Florida's east coast, perform necropsies, and assist Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission with stranding- and rehabilitation-related activities. This project will allow LMC to better treat and stabilize critically ill and injured sea turtles, and includes blood analyzer cartridges for our existing machines to monitor the biochemical profile of patients in surgery or intensive care, and a hoist to be able to move larger animals safely and easily.
Results: All of the necessary hoist equipment for LMC's deep dive tank was purchased, installed, and used numerous times to move large sea turtles in and out of this tank. LMC experienced a heavy sea turtle caseload in 2023 due to a robust breeding season, a number of cold stun transfers, and two other area rehabilitation centers having their permits revoked. A total of 2,593 sea turtles representing all 5 species found in the area were admitted to the center in 2023 (2,380 hatchlings/post-hatchlings and 213 juvenile to adult sea turtles). The large number of turtles needing emergent care necessitated the use of numerous iSTAT cartridges and Vetscan rotors to determine the health status of the patients.