Abstract

During the summer of 2000, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources initiated the first of a three-year effort to inventory sea turtles in the coastal waters off South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida. Standard processing of each captured turtle included taking 10 length measurements, weight, and drawing blood to analyze for mtDNA, natural toxins, contaminants, immune response, and testosterone analyses. Additional blood samples were collected from 43 Caretta caretta and 2 Lepidochelys kempi for a comprehensive reptilian profile by Antech laboratories. Both phlebotomy slides and refrigerated 10-ml samples preserved with lithium heparin were taken. Data on 26 blood parameters from these turtles is compared with data from the International Species Information System and with published data from cold stunned turtles during the 1999-2000 winter. Variation in blood with size and weight appears minimal within the size range sampled.