Off the seacoast of Florida , the universe of green sea polo-neck hasdramatically rebounded . From fewer than 500 nest recorded on the beach nearly 30 years ago , last year saw a record 28,000 clutches of eggs laid . But despite this impressive recovery , they now seem to be facing another job . More and more of the reptilesare being foundinfected with a potentially pestilent disease , which causes tumors to raise all over their bodies .
The disease , known as fibropapillomatosis , is think to be make by a herpes virus and is specific to ocean turtleneck . Despite looking harmful , the tumors that grow on the aerofoil are in the main benign , but problems arise when they grow over the turtles ' eye , which prevents them from seeing and therefore feed in . Around 20 years ago , vets at the Turtle Hospital in the Florida Keys were ascertain around eight turtles a month with the tumors , but recently they have seen a monolithic increase , now encounter around eighta calendar week .
While the disease is preponderantly found in green sea turtles , the infirmary has also found it in Kemp ’s ridley turtles , as well as the gravid shithead . They have found that around half of the green sea turtles in the area are bear on , and treat them by surgically bump off the bulging tumors from their bodies . Sometimes this takes multiple operations due to the severe conditions some of them are in . After this , they are held for about a year to aid in their recuperation , but if the disease has spread to their liver and kidney , nothing can be done to carry through them . Unfortunately , only around one in five of the turtle recover to a country in which they can be returned to the wild .
The causa of the disease , and why it has on the spur of the moment increased in relative incidence , is still not 100 percent readable . One reportlooking into fibropapillomatosis in polo-neck endure off Hawaii call that certain areas around the coast had a disproportionately enceinte number involve due to nitrogen runoff from cities and farms . They propose that an increase in nitrogen in the piddle leads to the alga converting more of it into an amino Zen foretell arginine . The turtles tip on the alga , and therefore take in raise tier of arginine , which has been found to hold the growth of the herpes computer virus responsible for fibropapillomatosis .
Whether this is the causa of the increase in tumor , or whether some other factor – such as pollution or global warming – might be to blame is still obscure and thus necessitate to be investigated . “ I have this horrible tone that as the ocean lovesome we are give way to see more and more disease , ” veterinarian Doug Mader , who works at the Turtle Hospital in the Florida Keys , recount AFP .
