Taylor Erdman
In Motion Staff Writer
While many factors contribute to the decline in the sea turtle population — fisheries’ bycatch, trawlers, longlines and gill nets — most might not know that the leading cause of death is Fibropapilloma, also known as F.P.
The cauliflower-like tumor grows on the soft tissue of the creature and though it’s a benign tumor, it still grows sporadically and hinders sea turtles’ ability to swim, therefore harming their ability to eat.
This was the topic of the most recent offering in the STEMinar speaker series offered every month at Daytona State College. Coordinated by Dr. Jeffrey Squires, DSC assistant professor, more information on the series can be obtained by calling 506-4714 or email Jeffrey.Squires@DaytonaState.edu.
The turtle discussion was the first in the series, which kicked off Oct. 9. Titled “Healing Florida’s Sick Sea Turtles,” is was presented by Catherine Eastman, sea turtle program coordinator at Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida.
Tumors do not always kill the sea turtle when it grows on the outside of the creature, said Eastman, adding that doctors discovered that exterior tumors can be removed with a Co2 laser that explodes rogue cells and cauterizes the wound at the same time. Even so, 60 percent of tumors regrow post-surgery.
“We’ve seen minor regrowth,” noted Eastman. “It takes about a month for the skin to look like a scar- two to four months for the tumor to re-grow.”
But when tumors grow on the inside, problems arise. Doctors cannot correctly treat F.P. when it develops in the intestines and on organs of the creatures. Most often the animal is euthanized.
F.P. usually hits warmer waters and scientists like Eastman discovered their first case in the Florida Keys in the 1930s. Since then, F.P. has been closely related to skin cancer due to the similarities in gene signatures including the excessive amount of UV rays the turtles come in contact with. Another critical trigger for the disease is in the form of a herpes virus that lingers in the system of some turtles.
Since there is no sollid diagnosis for why FP shows up in sea turtles, doctors have begun using 5-fu, a drug used to treat skin cancer.
Currently, there are only six hospitals that will take turtles with F.P., one of which is Whitney Labs in St Augustine. Though the CO2 laser is mildly effective at keeping F.P. away, and 5-fu have helped in some instances, doctors are looking into a more efficient post-surgery drug treatment that could eradicate the disease.
“Being here in Florida, I’ve learned about sea turtles at five, seven, nine, I had no idea it [FP] was even there,” remarked seminar attendee Kaley Ashby.
In general, since sea turtles spend most of their lives in the water they become cultures for leech eggs and other living organisms like barnacles and mollusks. It takes the average sea turtle 20 to 30 years for them to mature enough for them to reproduce, which adds to their population decline.
STEMinar presentations continue throughout the fall, as follows. Seminars are an hour long and start at 5 p.m. Mondays in the Madorsky Theater, located in the Hosseini Center on DSC’s Daytona Beach Campus:
Nov. 6 — “Comparing and contrasting genetic structure of invasive mussels and barnacles off the coast of Florida,” with Eric Hoffman, Ph.D., associate professor and undergraduate program coordinator, Department of Biology, University of Central Florida
Nov. 20 — “Mechanisms that shape the distribution of genetic and phenotypic variation in among populations and species of marine invertebrates,” with Melissa DeBiasse, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow, Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida
Nov. 27 — “A novel on-orbit propellant storage and transfer system,” presented by Sathya Gangadharan, Ph.D., professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University