{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/108555"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/108555","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Environmental differences in the microbiome and exposure to the emerging fungal pathogen, Emydomyces testavorans, in conservation rearing and release programs for the western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata)","abstract":"Artificial animal environments, such as human-managed conservation rearing programs, represent an extreme change in lifestyle for many animal species that may be accompanied by unintended alterations to host microbiota and immune function. It is unknown if the management practices of built environments (e.g., disinfection, simplified substrates, full water changes) induce shifts to dysbiotic environmental and host-associated microbiomes that are susceptible to infection. We investigated the effect of the microbial rearing environment on shaping the microbiome structure, hematology, and shell health of free-ranging and managed-care Western Pond Turtle (Actinemys marmorata) populations. This (critically) imperiled turtle species participates in conservation rearing and release, or “headstart” (HS), programs to help mitigate population threats. Despite decades of successful recovery efforts, an apparently severe shell disease associated with a newly described fungus (Emydomyces testavorans) has been discovered and may be threatening the conservation gains of this species. Habitat and host-associated turtle microbiomes were examined across free-ranging populations that included both wild and HS-reared turtle, and among hatchlings reared in HS programs under conventional management with stringent hygiene practices and less intensive biofiltration management. Our findings indicated that managed-care systems generally exhibited reduced microbial species richness and altered microbial community structure relative to native systems. Less stringent habitat management (i.e., less microbial disturbance) within the HS program shifted the fungal microbiome of hatchling turtles toward those of disease-free animals and reduced their exposure to Emydomyces testavorans. This research provides support for the positive health potential of incorporating the microbiome into existing species conservation efforts, as well as improves our understanding of the ecology of an emerging pathogen and disease that pose a significant challenge to decades of successful species recovery efforts. Enhancing habitat management practices through the cultivation of robust microbiomes will enable these animals, and conservation programs overall, to have the greatest chance to overcome threats to species recovery.","abstract_html":"Artificial animal environments, such as human-managed conservation rearing programs, represent an extreme change in lifestyle for many animal species that may be accompanied by unintended alterations to host microbiota and immune function. It is unknown if the management practices of built environments (e.g., disinfection, simplified substrates, full water changes) induce shifts to dysbiotic environmental and host-associated microbiomes that are susceptible to infection. We investigated the effect of the microbial rearing environment on shaping the microbiome structure, hematology, and shell health of free-ranging and managed-care Western Pond Turtle (Actinemys marmorata) populations. This (critically) imperiled turtle species participates in conservation rearing and release, or “headstart” (HS), programs to help mitigate population threats. Despite decades of successful recovery efforts, an apparently severe shell disease associated with a newly described fungus (Emydomyces testavorans) has been discovered and may be threatening the conservation gains of this species. Habitat and host-associated turtle microbiomes were examined across free-ranging populations that included both wild and HS-reared turtle, and among hatchlings reared in HS programs under conventional management with stringent hygiene practices and less intensive biofiltration management. Our findings indicated that managed-care systems generally exhibited reduced microbial species richness and altered microbial community structure relative to native systems. Less stringent habitat management (i.e., less microbial disturbance) within the HS program shifted the fungal microbiome of hatchling turtles toward those of disease-free animals and reduced their exposure to Emydomyces testavorans. This research provides support for the positive health potential of incorporating the microbiome into existing species conservation efforts, as well as improves our understanding of the ecology of an emerging pathogen and disease that pose a significant challenge to decades of successful species recovery efforts. Enhancing habitat management practices through the cultivation of robust microbiomes will enable these animals, and conservation programs overall, to have the greatest chance to overcome threats to species recovery.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hazemi, Monique S."],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"M.S.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Natural Res & Env Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Kent, Angela D"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-10-07T22:07:08Z","date_published":"2020-10-07T22:07:08Z","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:48Z","subjects":["western pond turtle","emydomyces testavorans","microbiome","health","conservation","headstart program","managed care","disinfection","shell disease"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright 2020 Monique Hazemi"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/2142/108555","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Kent, Angela D"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hazemi, Monique S."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2020-10-07T22:07:08Z","2022-10-07T22:44:53Z","2020-04-16","2020-08"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text","Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Natural Res & Env Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["western pond turtle","emydomyces testavorans","microbiome","health","conservation","headstart program","managed care","disinfection","shell disease"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2020 Monique Hazemi"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/108555"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Artificial animal environments, such as human-managed conservation rearing programs, represent an extreme change in lifestyle for many animal species that may be accompanied by unintended alterations to host microbiota and immune function. It is unknown if the management practices of built environments (e.g., disinfection, simplified substrates, full water changes) induce shifts to dysbiotic environmental and host-associated microbiomes that are susceptible to infection. We investigated the effect of the microbial rearing environment on shaping the microbiome structure, hematology, and shell health of free-ranging and managed-care Western Pond Turtle (Actinemys marmorata) populations. This (critically) imperiled turtle species participates in conservation rearing and release, or “headstart” (HS), programs to help mitigate population threats. Despite decades of successful recovery efforts, an apparently severe shell disease associated with a newly described fungus (Emydomyces testavorans) has been discovered and may be threatening the conservation gains of this species. Habitat and host-associated turtle microbiomes were examined across free-ranging populations that included both wild and HS-reared turtle, and among hatchlings reared in HS programs under conventional management with stringent hygiene practices and less intensive biofiltration management. Our findings indicated that managed-care systems generally exhibited reduced microbial species richness and altered microbial community structure relative to native systems. Less stringent habitat management (i.e., less microbial disturbance) within the HS program shifted the fungal microbiome of hatchling turtles toward those of disease-free animals and reduced their exposure to Emydomyces testavorans. This research provides support for the positive health potential of incorporating the microbiome into existing species conservation efforts, as well as improves our understanding of the ecology of an emerging pathogen and disease that pose a significant challenge to decades of successful species recovery efforts. Enhancing habitat management practices through the cultivation of robust microbiomes will enable these animals, and conservation programs overall, to have the greatest chance to overcome threats to species recovery.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2022-08-01","The student, Monique Hazemi, accepted the attached license on 2020-04-14 at 11:41.","The student, Monique Hazemi, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2020-04-14 at 12:11.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2020-04-16 at 16:37.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #14975 on 2020-10-02 at 15:30:36","Made available in DSpace on 2020-10-07T22:07:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 HAZEMI-THESIS-2020.pdf: 5100152 bytes, checksum: 911de821b8bc4012da3e364210cf5b03 (MD5) LICENSE.txt: 4211 bytes, checksum: 7853a51d375197f3a786a3db8490bfff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2020-04-16","Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 116181 Lift date: 2022-10-07T22:07:19Z Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system","Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 116181 Lift date: 2022-10-07T22:44:53Z Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system","Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system","U of I Only"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Environmental differences in the microbiome and exposure to the emerging fungal pathogen, Emydomyces testavorans, in conservation rearing and release programs for the western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata)"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Kent, Angela D"],"dc:creator":["Hazemi, Monique S."],"dc:date":["2020-10-07T22:07:08Z","2022-10-07T22:44:53Z","2020-04-16","2020-08"],"dc:description":["Artificial animal environments, such as human-managed conservation rearing programs, represent an extreme change in lifestyle for many animal species that may be accompanied by unintended alterations to host microbiota and immune function. It is unknown if the management practices of built environments (e.g., disinfection, simplified substrates, full water changes) induce shifts to dysbiotic environmental and host-associated microbiomes that are susceptible to infection. We investigated the effect of the microbial rearing environment on shaping the microbiome structure, hematology, and shell health of free-ranging and managed-care Western Pond Turtle (Actinemys marmorata) populations. This (critically) imperiled turtle species participates in conservation rearing and release, or “headstart” (HS), programs to help mitigate population threats. Despite decades of successful recovery efforts, an apparently severe shell disease associated with a newly described fungus (Emydomyces testavorans) has been discovered and may be threatening the conservation gains of this species. Habitat and host-associated turtle microbiomes were examined across free-ranging populations that included both wild and HS-reared turtle, and among hatchlings reared in HS programs under conventional management with stringent hygiene practices and less intensive biofiltration management. Our findings indicated that managed-care systems generally exhibited reduced microbial species richness and altered microbial community structure relative to native systems. Less stringent habitat management (i.e., less microbial disturbance) within the HS program shifted the fungal microbiome of hatchling turtles toward those of disease-free animals and reduced their exposure to Emydomyces testavorans. This research provides support for the positive health potential of incorporating the microbiome into existing species conservation efforts, as well as improves our understanding of the ecology of an emerging pathogen and disease that pose a significant challenge to decades of successful species recovery efforts. Enhancing habitat management practices through the cultivation of robust microbiomes will enable these animals, and conservation programs overall, to have the greatest chance to overcome threats to species recovery.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2022-08-01","The student, Monique Hazemi, accepted the attached license on 2020-04-14 at 11:41.","The student, Monique Hazemi, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2020-04-14 at 12:11.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2020-04-16 at 16:37.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #14975 on 2020-10-02 at 15:30:36","Made available in DSpace on 2020-10-07T22:07:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 HAZEMI-THESIS-2020.pdf: 5100152 bytes, checksum: 911de821b8bc4012da3e364210cf5b03 (MD5) LICENSE.txt: 4211 bytes, checksum: 7853a51d375197f3a786a3db8490bfff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2020-04-16","Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 116181 Lift date: 2022-10-07T22:07:19Z Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system","Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 116181 Lift date: 2022-10-07T22:44:53Z Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system","Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system","U of I Only"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/108555"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2020 Monique Hazemi"],"dc:subject":["western pond turtle","emydomyces testavorans","microbiome","health","conservation","headstart program","managed care","disinfection","shell disease"],"dc:title":["Environmental differences in the microbiome and exposure to the emerging fungal pathogen, Emydomyces testavorans, in conservation rearing and release programs for the western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata)"],"dc:type":["text","Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Natural Res & Env Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:48Z"}