84 Michael D. Stuart and Grover C. Miller 



Piedmont Plateau (n = 97), with small comparative samples taken 

 from the Blue Ridge Mountains (n = 16) and the Coastal Plain (n = 

 4). Ninety-seven turtles were collected either as roadkills or while 

 they were crossing highways. Twenty specimens were collected in the 

 field, in part with the aid of a border terrier dog trained to locate 

 turtles by scent. All turtles were sexed by secondary sexual characteristics 

 or grouped as juveniles if the plastron length was <100 mm. The 

 turtles were weighed to the nearest 0.1 g, measured both along the 

 straight length of the plastron and around the curve of the carapace, 

 and examined for helminth parasites. The entire visceral mass was 

 removed. The body cavity and each organ was examined separately. 

 The gastrointestinal tract was separated into distinct sections (esophagus, 

 stomach, intestines, and colon), and individual sections were cut length- 

 wise, washed, and examined separately. After removal of parasites 

 from the lumen, each section was scraped with a sharp blade. The 

 gut sections and the contents were digested in a pepsin-HCl solution 

 agitated constantly for 1 hour at 36C. The solution was decanted, 

 and the residue was examined for helminths with the aid of a stereoscopic 

 microscope. 



Stomach ulcerations were removed and fixed in 70% ethyl alcohol, 

 5% formalin, or gluteraldehyde before sectioning for histological analysis. 

 Blood smears were strained with hemal blood film stain and examined 

 for the presence of microfilariae. 



Helminths were considered prominent if the prevalence was >15% 

 and peripheral if the prevalence was <15%. We used an ANOVA to 

 test for significant differences in number of species of parasites between 

 sexes. A Kruskal-Willis test was used to test for significant differences 

 in number of individual parasites between sexes and geographical 

 regions of the state. 



RESULTS 



The box turtles we examined consisted of 43 males, 48 females, 

 and 26 juveniles. Stuart and Miller (1987) previously reported on 

 mass, sex and age structure, seasonal distribution, reproduction, and 

 food habits of 104 individuals from this collection. Of the 117 turtles, 

 3 were not infected, 27 were infected with 1 species of helminth 

 parasite, 41 were infected with 2 species, and 46 were infected with 

 >3 parasite species. The modal number of helminths was 22 with a 

 range of 0-303, exclusive of larval Spironoura affinis in stomach 

 ulcers. The helminth species we found and their prevalence and intensity 

 are shown in Table 1. No significant differences were found in helminth 

 species prevalence or intensity between host males, females, and juveniles. 

 Four helminth species exhibited a prominent infection rate of >15%: 



