Turtles with fibropapillomatosis are treated at rehabilitation facilities where the tumors are surgically removed. Unfortunately, many of them do not survive or the tumors regrow.

One solution to helping this population of sea turtles could be as simple as sunlight. Many turtle rehabilitation facilities have enclosures that limit sea turtles' exposure to natural ultraviolet (UV) light. Rays from sun exposure are an important source of vitamin D, which is an essential nutrient in vertebrates that plays many physiological roles. Importantly, sea turtles with fibropapillomatosis show reduced vitamin D levels and variations in blood chemistry parameters.

For the study, FAU researchers compared vitamin D levels in green sea turtles with and without evident fibropapillomatosis to determine if exposure to sunlight would influence vitamin D levels and other health parameters. They also examined differences between turtles brought in to rehabilitation facilities and healthy wild-caught juvenile green turtles.

In addition, researchers investigated if higher levels of sun exposure increase vitamin D levels in sea turtles undergoing treatment for fibropapillomatosis compared to turtles receiving less ultraviolet light. Since turtles both with and without visible tumors entered the rehabilitation facility, researchers also checked to see if there was any correlation between sun exposure, vitamin D and tumor regrowth.