Relationships between Curved Carapace Sizes and Plasma Major and Trace Element Status in Captive Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships between carapace parameters as indicator of age and plasma elements in 25 captive hawksbill sea turtles. Particle induced X-ray emission allowed detection of 23 trace and major elements. There were significant but weak correlations in the virtual carapace surface area and plasma bromide (r=−0.552, P<0.01), phosphorus (r=0.547, P<0.01), lead (r=−0.434, P<0.05) and strontium (r=0.599, P<0.01), while there were no significant correlations to other elements. These results suggest that plasma major and trace elements in captive sea turtles show almost no variation with carapace parameters, suggesting that the increase in plasma elements seen in wild sea turtles might be the result of marine pollution.