Survey of parasites in sea turtles rescued off the coast of Santa Catarina and Paraná, Brazil (2020-2022) and their relationship with marine pollution

Abstract

The identification of parasite fauna can contribute to the assessment of the health status of sea turtles, and thus make it possible to develop effective management and treatment strategies aimed at conserving these animals. The present study aimed to investigate the parasite fauna in sea turtles rescued in six sections of the coast of Santa Catarina and Paraná (Brazil) from January 2020 to December 2022 through the recording of exam reports available in the Information System of Aquatic Biota Monitoring. In total, records of 334 sea turtles were analyzed during this period, of which 219 (65.6 %) were infected with at least one parasite. Chelonia mydas was the most frequent species with 86.5 % of rescues and presented the highest species richness. At least 43 species belonging to 36 different genera have been recorded parasitizing sea turtles. The most common helminths were Cricocephalus albus, Metacetabulum invaginatum, Pronocephalus obliquus, with 12.3 %, 8.7 % and 8.4 %, respectively, while protozoa of the genus Entamoeba were the most prevalent in the turtles analyzed (8.1 %). An interesting finding was the unprecedented finding of Hymenolepis sp. eggs in faeces of some turtle species. The results showed that the parasite fauna was quite diverse, with several species known to be capable of harming the physical health and well-being of sea turtles. In view of this, it is necessary to adopt strategies for monitoring the health of the different rescued species with a view to conserving sea turtles in Brazilian territory.