Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) are opportunistic carnivores that feed primarily on benthic invertebrates and fish. Sea turtle rehabilitation requires provision of a species-specific, balanced diet that supplies nutrition similar to that of a wild diet; this can be challenging because free-ranging loggerheads’ diets vary depending on their life stage and geographic location, with predominant prey species dictated by local availability. The goal of this study was to better understand the nutritional needs of subadult and adult loggerheads in rehabilitation. This was accomplished by conducting a retrospective survey of stomach contents identified during gross necropsy of 153 deceased loggerheads that stranded in coastal Georgia, USA. A total of 288 different forage items were identified; the most frequently observed prey items belong to the subphylum Crustacea (N = 131), followed by bony fish (Osteichthyes; N = 45), gastropod mollusks (N = 40), bivalve mollusks (N = 23), and Atlantic horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus; N = 15). The proportions of certain prey items differed significantly with turtle size; adult turtles ate proportionately more gastropods (p = 0.001), and subadults ate proportionately more fish (p = 0.01). Stomach contents information was used to determine common local prey items (blue crab, cannonball jellyfish, horseshoe crab, whelk), which were evaluated for nutritional content. Additionally, we compared hematology and plasma biochemistry profiles (including proteins, trace minerals, and vitamins) between four cohorts of loggerhead turtles, including free-ranging subadults and adults, nesting females, and loggerheads undergoing rehabilitation. This information was applied to inform a regionally specific, formulated diet for tube feeding, and a supplement containing vitamins and minerals for captive loggerheads, to more closely approximate the nutritional content of their natural diet. Assessing the regional and temporal variability in loggerhead diets is an important component in their effective conservation because resultant data can be used to help understand the impacts of environmental perturbations on benthic food webs.

中文翻译：

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美国东南部赤蠵龟 (Caretta caretta) 的健康和营养状况

红海龟 ( Caretta caretta) 是机会主义食肉动物，主要以底栖无脊椎动物和鱼类为食。海龟康复需要提供特定物种的均衡饮食，提供与野生饮食相似的营养；这可能具有挑战性，因为自由放养的红海龟的饮食取决于它们的生命阶段和地理位置，主要的猎物物种取决于当地的可用性。本研究的目的是更好地了解亚成人和成人在康复过程中的营养需求。这是通过对滞留在美国佐治亚州沿海地区的 153 只死去的红海龟的大体尸检过程中确定的胃内容物进行回顾性调查来完成的。共鉴定出 288 种不同的草料；最常观察到的猎物属于甲壳纲亚门（N  = 131），其次是硬骨鱼（Osteichthyes；N  = 45）、腹足类软体动物（N  = 40）、双壳类软体动物（N  = 23）和大西洋鲎（鲎；N  = 15）。某些猎物的比例与龟的大小有显着差异；成年海龟吃的腹足类动物比例更高（p  = 0.001），亚成年海龟吃的鱼比例更高（p = 0.01)。胃内容物信息用于确定常见的当地猎物（蓝蟹、炮弹水母、马蹄蟹、海螺），并对其营养成分进行评估。此外，我们比较了四组赤蠵龟的血液学和血浆生化特征（包括蛋白质、微量矿物质和维生素），包括自由放养的亚成年和成年、筑巢的雌性和正在康复的赤蠵龟。这些信息被用于制定区域特定的管饲配方饮食，以及用于圈养红头鱼的含有维生素和矿物质的补充剂，以更接近其天然饮食的营养成分。