Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) hatch success and essential and nonessential metals in eggs and embryos from nests in St. Kitts (2015). (December 2020) - Dennis, Michelle M.
Abstract: Northwest Atlantic leatherback sea turtles ( Dermochelys coriacea ) are endangered and low hatch success limits potential for population recovery. We examined essential and nonessential metal concentrations in 43 eggs from nests on St. Kitts to determine if there was a relationship with hatch success. Whole homogenized embryos and undeveloped eggs contained detectable concentrations of arsenic, barium, copper, iron, selenium, vanadium, and zinc, but not beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, mercury, molybdenum, and thallium. Of detected metals, only vanadium concentrations negatively correlated with hatch success (P = 0.01). Manganese and vanadium were associated with pneumonia occurring in the nest, and arsenic with renal mineralization. This study adds to the knowledge regarding baseline values for environmental contaminants in sea turtles, supporting the trend that leatherback eggs have relatively low concentrations of toxic metals, lacking a strong relationship with hatch success, and normally contain the essential elements copper, iron, selenium, and zinc. Highlights: Concentrations of 15 metals are described for Northwest Atlantic leatherback eggs. These are the first data on eggs of the North Caribbean nesting population. Apart from essential elements, most metals were present at low concentrations. The concentration of some metals varied by beach and embryonal stage of development. Vanadium was the only metal to negatively correlate with hatch success.