The feeding behaviour of the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis, L. 1758) is not a threat for other endangered species

Ducotterd, Charlotte; Crovadore, Julien; Lefort, François; Guisan, Antoine; Ursenbacher, Sylvain; Rubin, Jean‐François

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01133

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…It appears that newts are part of the diet, but not typical and often eaten food item for this pond turtle. After the publications of Szczerbak & Szczerban (1980), Kuzmin (1999), Fahrbach & Gerlach (2018 and the results of Çiçek & Ayaz (2011), we can now conclude that our observation is not due to some stress situation (caused by the traps), but a natural behaviour of individuals of E. orbicularis feeding on newts. Moreover, the European pond turtle is an opportunistic species when it comes to feeding (Fritz, 2003;Stojanov et al, 2011;Speybroeck et al, 2016), that would feed on anything that could catch (even carcasses).…”

supporting

confidence: 64%

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A case of Emys orbicularis (L.) feeding on newts from Bulgaria

Vergilov¹,

Dyugmedzhiev²,

Georgieva³

et al. 2021

Hist. nat. bulg.

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Different amphibians and amphibian larvae were already observed and described as part of the diet of the European pond turtle. Few studies report body parts from adult newts in the stomach content of Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) or newts predated by the same pond turtle species. We observed remains of Triturus dobrogicus (Kiritzescu, 1903) and Trituris ivanbureschi Arntzen & Wielstra, 2013 eaten by E. orbicularis inside funnel traps, which strongly suggests, that newts are part of the diet, although not typical and often eaten food by this pond turtle.

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supporting

confidence: 64%

“…Similar information, about the European pond turtle predating on species of Triturus, has been provided by Kuzmin (1999) (for T. cristatus) and Fahrbach & Gerlach (2018) (for genus Triturus). Again, the authors (Kuzmin, 1999;Fahrbach & Gerlach, 2018) do not provide any details, supporting these statements.…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

A case of Emys orbicularis (L.) feeding on newts from Bulgaria

Vergilov¹,

Dyugmedzhiev²,

Georgieva³

et al. 2021

Hist. nat. bulg.

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“…European pond turtles ( Emys orbicularis ) are omnivorous turtles ( Çiçek and Ayaz, 2011 ) from the Emydidae family whose habitat spans from East and Central Europe to regions rimming the Mediterranean Sea ( Fritz, 2001 , 2003 ). They are classified as “near threatened” according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List ( Ducotterd et al, 2020 ), whereas the Swiss population is classified as critically endangered ( Monney and Meyer, 2005 ). This species is known to host the spirorchiid blood fluke Spirhapalum polesianum , which has been identified in healthy and diseased E. orbicularis specimens from Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and Romania ( Ejsmont, 1927 ; Jennemann and Bidmon, 2009 ; Mihalca et al, 2007 ; Sharpilo, 1960 ; Snyder, 2004 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fatal spirorchiidosis in European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) in Switzerland

Schönbächler¹,

Olias

Richard

et al. 2022

International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife

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Infections with intravascular digenean trematodes of the Spirorchiidae family (spirorchiidoses) are of great conservation concern both in marine and freshwater turtles due to their pathogenic potential. Between 2014 and 2021, Spirorchis sp. infections associated with granulomatous inflammation and sudden death were detected in European pond turtles ( Emys orbicularis ) from three conservation breeding facilities in Switzerland. Blood fluke eggs associated with lesions were found in the intestine, spleen, testis, skeletal musculature, heart, kidneys, stomach, pancreas, liver, lung, and meninges from nine pond turtles submitted for necropsy and in the intestinal content from five of these animals. Two novel polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) targeting the 28S ribosomal RNA gene and the ITS2 region and subsequent sequencing revealed 100% nucleotide identity with a Spirorchis sp. previously isolated from an Escambia map turtle ( Graptemys ernsti ) in the USA. Our findings suggest a spill-over event secondary to direct or indirect contact with invasive North American turtle species in Switzerland. We describe the clinical, haematological, ultrasonographical, endoscopical, parasitological, pathological, and molecular findings associated with spirorchiid blood fluke infections of the Spirorchis genus in E. orbicularis , as well as the biosecurity measures that were developed to prevent the spread of this parasite among breeding and highly endangered free-ranging E. orbicularis populations in Switzerland.

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“…It is also possible that there is a dietary shift during growth in pond turtles, leading to the consumption of higher–trophic level prey with age; and this diet would be more PCB‐contaminated as a result of biomagnification. This hypothesis, however, is not consistent with dietary studies of E. orbicularis in Camargue, which instead documented a shift to a more herbivorous diet with age based on prey identification in fecal samples (Ottonello et al 2005) or no difference in the proportion of plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates in the diet based on metabarcoding (Ducotterd et al 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Determinants of Legacy Persistent Organic Pollutant Levels in the European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis) in the Camargue Wetland, France

Burkart

Olivier

Lourdais

et al. 2021

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Many banned persistent organic pollutants (POPs) remain for decades in the aquatic environment and can have harmful effects on long-lived predators because of their high bioaccumulation and biomagnification potentials. We investigated the occurrence and levels of 18 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 16 organochlorine pesticides in European pond turtles (n = 174) from April to July 2018 in the Camargue wetland, France. Although the Camargue was highly contaminated in previous decades, plasma occurrence and levels of POPs were very low: we were able to quantify only 3 of the 34 compounds we analyzed in >10% of the turtles. The burdens from POPs did not differ between males and females and were uncorrelated with sampling date and body mass. We observed differences in POP burdens between turtles from the 2 sampling sites. One possible explanation is that the sampling sites were in different agricultural hydraulic systems: plasma occurrence and levels were higher for PCB-52 and hexachlorobenzene in turtles captured in drainage channels and for PCB-153 at the site that receives irrigation. Finally, the occurrence and levels of PCB-153 in turtles increased with age, likely because of bioaccumulation and much higher exposure 20 to 30 yr ago than now.

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The feeding behaviour of the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis, L. 1758) is not a threat for other endangered species

Cited by 8 publications

References 37 publications

A case of Emys orbicularis (L.) feeding on newts from Bulgaria

A case of Emys orbicularis (L.) feeding on newts from Bulgaria

Fatal spirorchiidosis in European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) in Switzerland

Determinants of Legacy Persistent Organic Pollutant Levels in the European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis) in the Camargue Wetland, France

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