SEARCH FOR SPECIFIC ANIMAL PATIENTS
Mote’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital provides state-of-the-art critical care and chronic care for sea turtles and works closely with Mote’s Stranding Investigations Program in response to stranded turtles and marine mammals. The hospital’s mission is to rehabilitate these animals and return them to the marine environment, while gaining information that will expand knowledge of the biology, disease processes and veterinary care of these animals.
Our hospital has admitted hundreds of sick and injured sea turtles since 1995, including all five species found in the Gulf of Mexico. Mote has one of the few hospitals in Florida with special facilities and training to care for turtles suffering from fibropapilloma tumors.
We aim to help all our turtle patients return to the marine environment and contribute to their populations for years to come. This matters greatly: All sea turtle species are threatened or endangered.
We are extremely grateful to the Sea Turtle Grants Program of the Sea Turtle Conservancy. They have awarded more than two dozen grants to Mote over the years, including for our Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital and for our conservation and research efforts with sea turtles in the environment. The Sea Turtle Grants Program is funded by proceeds from the sale of the Florida Sea Turtle License Plate. Learn more at: helpingseaturtles.org
Program Details
Current Projects
- Immune systems effects resulting from exposure of marine vertebrates to Florida Red Tide, authorized 11/2006
- Shotgun sequencing of viruses associated with sea turtle fibropapillomatosis, authorized 1/2007
- Brevetoxin induced morbidity and mortality in stranded dolphins and sea turtles in Florida, authorized 2/2004
- Satellite tracking studies of successfully rehabilitated turtles from Mote Marine Laboratory Sea Turtle Hospital upon release to the wild, authorized 6/2006
- Implementing a husbandry training program with two captive adult loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), authorized 9/2006
- Behavioral audiogram of the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), authorized 5/2007
- Auditory evoked potentials of stranded and nonreleasable sea turtles, authorized 6/2008
- Efficacy of Cholestyramine for treatment of brevetoxicosis in sea turtles, authorized 11/2008
- Effects of red tide toxin exposure on immune function of the loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, and a proposed model freshwater species, the pond slider, Trachemys scripta, authorized 2012
Grants Received
- Sara Roberts Foundation – 2014
- Floria Sea Turtle Conservation Grant – 2014
- Sea Turtle Conservancy (Sea Turtle Grants Program) – multiple years:
- Service plan for the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital Laser at Mote Marine Laboratory
- Blood chemistry instrumentation and supplies for use in the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital at Mote Marine Laboratory
- Equipment upgrades and blood chemistries for Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital
- Upgrading the Radiological Capabilities of the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital
- Increasing Surgical Capacity of the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital
- Facility Expansion for the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital
- Pharmacokinetic Study to Establish Dosage for Piperacillin in Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta)
- Tissue and Plasma Enzyme Activities in Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta)We are extremely grateful to the Sea Turtle Grants Program of the Sea Turtle Conservancy for awarding more than two dozen grants to Mote over the years, including for our Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital and for our conservation and research efforts with sea turtles in the wild. The Sea Turtle Grants Program is funded by proceeds from the sale of the Florida Sea Turtle License Plate. Learn more at: www.helpingseaturtles.org
Meet our Animal Patients
Additional Program Information
- Greenhow D. R, C.A. Manire, L. Byrd, D.A. Mann. Hearing thresholds in stranded mother and calf Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus) pre-and post-antibiotic dosage.
- Epperly, S.P., A. Nunes H. Zwartepoorte, L. Byrd, M. Koperski, L. Stokes, M. Braganca, A.D. Tucker, and C.R. Sasso. 2013. Repatriation of a Kemp’s Ridley from the Eastern North Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico. Marine Turtle Newsletter No.136:1-2.
- Anderson, E.T., V. Socha, J. Gardner, L. Byrd, and C.A. Manire. 2013. Tissue enzyme activities in the loggerhead sea turtle (Careeta caretta). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 44 (1):62-69.
- Manire, C.A., E.T. Anderson, L. Byrd, and D. A. Fauquier. 2013 Dehydration as an effective treatment for brevetoxicosis in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 44(2): 447-452.
- Wells, R.S., C.A. Manire, L. Byrd, D.R. Smith, J.G. Gannon, D. Fauquier, and K.D. Mullin. 2009. First records of movements and dive patterns of Risso’s dolphins, Grampus griseus, in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean, from a rehabilitated individual. Marine Mammal Science.
- Manire,C.A., M. Kinsel, E. Anderson, T.Clauss, and L. Byrd. Lungworm infection in three loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. 2008. 39:92-98.
- Manire, C.A., L. Byrd, C.L. Therrien, and K. Martin. Mating-induced ovulation in loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta. Zoo Biology. 2008. 27:213-225.
- Manire, C.A., B.A. Stacey, M. Kinsel, H. Daniels, J. Wellehan, E. Anderson, and L. Byrd . Proliferative dermatitis in two sea turtles associated with novel papillomaviruses. Veterinary Microbiology. 2007.
- Manire, C.A., C.M. Reiber, K.L. West, C. Gasper, H. Rhinehart, L. Byrd, and J. Sweeney. Blood chemistry and hematology values in healthy and rehabilitated rough-toothed dolphins, Steno bredanensis. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A. 2007.
- Manire, C.A., L. Byrd, C.L. Therrien, and K. Martin. Mating-induced ovulation in loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta. Zoo Biology. 2007.
- Manire, C.A., M. Kinsel, E. Anderson, T. Clauss, and L. Byrd. In press. Lungworm infection in two loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. 2007.
- Manire, C.A., K.A. Smolarek, C.H. Romero, M.J. Kinsel, T.M. Clauss, and L. Byrd. Proliferative dermatitis associated with a novel alphaherpesvirus in an Atlantic Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncates). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. 2006. 37:174-181.
- Manire, C.A., R.P. Hunter, D.E. Koch, L. Byrd, and H.L. Rhinehart. Pharmacokinetics of ticarcillin in the loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, after single intravenous and intramuscular injections. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. 2005. 36:44-53.
