TABLE OF CONTENTS A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S ..............................................................................................................4 L IS T O F T A B L E S ............................................................................................... ..................... 10 LIST OF FIGURES ....................... ...................... .. ......... ............ ............... 12 A B S T R A C T .......................................................................................................... ..................... 14 CHAPTER 1 G EN ER A L IN TR O D U C TIO N ..............................................................................................16 2 COMPENSATORY GROWTH IN RESPONSE TO A CHANGE IN FOOD AVAILABILITY IN JUVENILE GREEN TURTLES (Chelonia mydas) .........................23 In tro d u c tio n ............................................................................................................................. 2 3 M materials and M methods .............. .............................................................................. 26 Anim al Care..................................................... ........... .. ..................... 26 Gut M orphology and Body Composition.................................................... 27 Statistical A naly ses............... .. .................. .................. ............... ...... ... ... ............ 29 Results .................................................... ............................... 30 Discussion ...................................................... .................. 34 3 BIOCHEMICAL INDICES AS CORRELATES OF RECENT GROWTH IN JUVENILE GREEN TURTLES (Chelonia mydas) ............... ................................... 55 Introduction ........................................................ .................. 55 M materials and M methods .............. .............................................................................. 56 Animal Care ............................................ .................................. 56 Tissue C collection ...................................................................................................... 57 B iochem ical A says ................................................................................................... 57 Statistical A analyses .................................................................................................... 58 Results ................................................... ............................... 60 Discussion ...................................................... .................. 62 4 COMPENSATORY GROWTH AND ANTIOXIDANT STATUS IN JUVENILE GREEN TURTLES (Chelonia mydas)................................................................................78 Introduction ........................................................ .................. 78 M materials and M methods .................................................................................................... 80 A nim al C are ............................................................ ...................... ....................80 Tissue Collection and Homogenization........................................................................80 Glutathione Peroxidase Activity Assay........................................................................81 T o ta l A P A ssa y ............................................................... ................................................ 8 2 8