Prevalência e severidade de fibropapilomatose em tartarugas-verdes, Chelonia mydas, em Alagoas

Abstract

Over the years, the increase in human population and socioeconomic activities, make the coastal zone a vulnerable region to environmental impacts that affect specimens, such as green turtles. Mega-herbivores with reasonable fidelity to the coastal region, which use the region for feeding and nesting. The deterioration of the coastal environment leaves them vulnerable to diseases such as fibropapillomatosis, which is associated with the presence of herpesvirus and the environmental condition, characterized by the development of tumors in the body, leaving the individual debilitated. The relationship with the coastal environment and the sensitivity to environmental changes make them a bioindicator, important for research enabling the evaluation of the quality of the environment in which it is inserted. This study aimed to evaluate the manifestation of fibropapillomatosis in green turtles (Chelonia mydas) stranded in 2018 on the coast of Alagoas. Metrics such as basic sanitation and night light were used to identify the urban influence on the condition of the analyzed animals, through heat maps and statistical analysis. When analyzing the prevalence and severity of the disease on the coast of Alagoas, it was possible to observe that, in the evaluated year, 13% of the individuals had tumors, where 63% of these were classified as mild, 22% moderate and 16% severe, predominating due to the presence of tumors. tumors in the anterior region of the body, such as fins and neck. These data speak to information from Brazil, where the prevalence is 15.41% and the anterior portion of the body is the most affected. When the data were observed together with the basic sanitation and night light metrics, through heat maps, it was not possible to confirm the relationship with the prevalence and severity, since with the multiple linear regression test it was possible to observe that the low rate of Basic sanitation is related to the prevalence of the disease in the state. Noting the importance of analyzing other factors that may also be related to the presence of the disease.