Ingesta passage and gastric emptying times in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) A.L. Valente a, * , I. Marco a , M.L. Parga b , S. Lavin a , F. Alegre b , R. Cuenca a a Servei d’Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge, Facultat de Veterina ` ria, Universitat Auto ` noma de Barcelona, 08193-Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain b Centre de Recuperacio ´ d’Animals Marins, Camı ´ Ral 239, 08330 – Premia ` de Mar, Barcelona, Spain Accepted 23 March 2007 Abstract Ingesta passage times of soft flat foam dishes and gastric emptying time of barium-impregnated polyethylene spheres (BIPS Ò ) were measured in 22 and 8 loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), respectively. Transit time (T 1 ) was considered as the time between ingestion and first elimination, and retention time (T 50 ) and total transit time (T 85 ) the expulsion time of 50% and 85% of the markers, respectively. The experiments were carried out at different times of the year and water temperature was recorded. A set of dorso-ventral radiographs was taken to locate the BIPS Ò , and the gastrointestinal anatomy of 5 dead turtles was studied to help with interpretation of the radio- graphs. No significant correlation was observed between T 1 , T 50 , T 85 and minimum straight carapace length (SCLmin) or body mass and no statistical difference was found in ingesta passage transit times between juvenile (n = 6) and sub-adult turtles (n = 16). Mean passage times of the dishes (in days) were: T 1 = 9.05, T 50 = 12.00 and T 85 = 13.19. Gastric emptying time using BIPS Ò was 24–48 h. The transit time (T 1 ) for the BIPS Ò was longer (13.25 ± 4.86 days) than the foam markers (8.5 ± 2.73 days) in 8 turtles studied simultaneously. Although the total transit time tended to be faster in turtles submitted to water temperatures between 20 °C and 23.6 °C no significant correlation was observed between T 1 , T 50 and T 85 and the temperature. Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Loggerhead sea turtle; Caretta caretta; BIPS Ò ; Ingesta passage time; Transit time; Gastrointestinal tract morphology 1. Introduction The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is a world- wide endangered species which is highly susceptible to human activity. The accidental ingestion of waste products from oil operations, plastic bags and other kinds of debris is one cause of mortality of this species throughout its dis- tribution (Balazs, 1985; Bjorndal et al., 1994; Toma ´s et al., 2002; Milton and Lutz, 2003). In some areas, such as the Mediterranean Sea, gastroin- testinal disorders are common due to the ingestion of fishhooks, which cause traumatic injuries to the gastrointes- tinal tract leading to death (Pont and Alegre, 2000). Most turtles accidentally captured by fishing activities are released without removal of the hook. On admitttance to the marine rescue centres, diagnosis of gastrointestinal disorders in these turtles is very difficult; necropsy findings frequently reveal severe gastrointestinal injuries such as enteritis fol- lowed by necrosis, bowel obstruction and intussusceptions produced by the folding effect of the line pulling through the intestine (Oro ´ s et al., 2005; Di Bello et al., 2006a,b). In domestic animals, knowledge of the ingesta passage and the normal gastric emptying times are useful in detect- ing gastrointestinal motility disorders and partial obstruc- tions of the pylorus or small intestine (Manfred and Camilleri, 1992; Guilford, 2001). The digestive passage time of inert and indigestible markers, normally plastic pieces, or their simultaneous use with another type of mar- ker have been used in many species, including chelonians (Lanyon and Marsh, 1995; Spencer et al., 1998; Hernot et al., 2006; Hailey, 1997). 0034-5288/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.rvsc.2007.03.013 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 93 581 19 23; fax: +34 93 581 20 06. E-mail address: schifinoval@hotmail.com (A.L. Valente). www.elsevier.com/locate/rvsc Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Research in Veterinary Science 84 (2008) 132–139