406
The Biology of Sea Turtles, Vol. II
resulting from a single necropsy could easily exceed $200. If a pathologist
examines these slides and produces a histopathology report, the costs will
increase. Toxin residue analyses can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars
depending on how many different classes of compound and their congeners are assayed. A full workup of a dead animal, including necropsy,
histopathologic examination, toxicology screen (organic residues, metals),
microbial cultures, and serology could easily exceed several thousand
dollars per individual. These costs combined with funding constraints and
poor study design may lead to reductions in sample sizes that become
inadequate for statistical analysis and interpretation. Unless these small
sample sizes can be added to and integrated with other studies, so that
there is a cumulative sample database, these studies may be a waste of
time and money.
3. Are support facilities and diagnostic services available and accessible?
Many specialized diagnostic assays can be performed in only one or a
few laboratories that have the appropriate reagents (e.g., cell lines, antibodies, or molecular probes) and validated assays. Diagnostic laboratories
and medical facilities should be contacted during the design stages of the
project and at least prior to beginning the study to determine feasibility.
Diagnostic laboratories and medical facilities may have limited capacity
to handle numbers of turtles or to process and analyze large numbers of
samples. These facilities may require time and money to set up or scale
up operations, especially if assays have to be validated and optimized for
various sea turtle species. Many samples may be sensitive to transport
time and storage conditions and must be transported to a receiving laboratory promptly. A diagnostic laboratory may have specific days and times
that it can receive samples and may have preferred methods for sample
preservation and transport. As discussed previously, each laboratory that
can analyze samples needs to establish its own set of reference values for
each sea turtle species. For large-scale or regional studies, selection of
one or a few laboratories in advance is important. Data comparisons
among laboratories and between methods may be a serious problem. If
more than one laboratory must be used, it should participate in a performance quality assurance program that involves routine assay of a common
set of standard reference samples and cross-checking of the results for
consistency between laboratories (Walton, 2001a).
4. Are specialized reagents and diagnostic tests available to perform a valid
study in sea turtles? Although a question may be of great interest and
importance to sea turtle health, the appropriate tests may not be available.
Many diagnostic tests and reagents are highly species-specific and do not
perform reliably in a different species. Biochemical assays designed for
humans or mammals may not function properly when applied to reptiles.
The analyte being detected may have completely different structural and
functional properties that affect its performance in an assay. A classic
example is quantification of plasma albumen using the dye-binding
method (Walton, 2001a). Each test must be optimized and validated for
1123 book.book Page 406 Monday, November 11, 2002 11:11 AM
The Biology of Sea Turtles, Vol. II
resulting from a single necropsy could easily exceed $200. If a pathologist
examines these slides and produces a histopathology report, the costs will
increase. Toxin residue analyses can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars
depending on how many different classes of compound and their congeners are assayed. A full workup of a dead animal, including necropsy,
histopathologic examination, toxicology screen (organic residues, metals),
microbial cultures, and serology could easily exceed several thousand
dollars per individual. These costs combined with funding constraints and
poor study design may lead to reductions in sample sizes that become
inadequate for statistical analysis and interpretation. Unless these small
sample sizes can be added to and integrated with other studies, so that
there is a cumulative sample database, these studies may be a waste of
time and money.
3. Are support facilities and diagnostic services available and accessible?
Many specialized diagnostic assays can be performed in only one or a
few laboratories that have the appropriate reagents (e.g., cell lines, antibodies, or molecular probes) and validated assays. Diagnostic laboratories
and medical facilities should be contacted during the design stages of the
project and at least prior to beginning the study to determine feasibility.
Diagnostic laboratories and medical facilities may have limited capacity
to handle numbers of turtles or to process and analyze large numbers of
samples. These facilities may require time and money to set up or scale
up operations, especially if assays have to be validated and optimized for
various sea turtle species. Many samples may be sensitive to transport
time and storage conditions and must be transported to a receiving laboratory promptly. A diagnostic laboratory may have specific days and times
that it can receive samples and may have preferred methods for sample
preservation and transport. As discussed previously, each laboratory that
can analyze samples needs to establish its own set of reference values for
each sea turtle species. For large-scale or regional studies, selection of
one or a few laboratories in advance is important. Data comparisons
among laboratories and between methods may be a serious problem. If
more than one laboratory must be used, it should participate in a performance quality assurance program that involves routine assay of a common
set of standard reference samples and cross-checking of the results for
consistency between laboratories (Walton, 2001a).
4. Are specialized reagents and diagnostic tests available to perform a valid
study in sea turtles? Although a question may be of great interest and
importance to sea turtle health, the appropriate tests may not be available.
Many diagnostic tests and reagents are highly species-specific and do not
perform reliably in a different species. Biochemical assays designed for
humans or mammals may not function properly when applied to reptiles.
The analyte being detected may have completely different structural and
functional properties that affect its performance in an assay. A classic
example is quantification of plasma albumen using the dye-binding
method (Walton, 2001a). Each test must be optimized and validated for
1123 book.book Page 406 Monday, November 11, 2002 11:11 AM