Epidemiological links are seen between FP rates, nitrogen footprints, and invasive macroalgae. The strongest association with FP is with habitat type, especially increased anthropogenic activity causing high-nitrogen footprints in a surrounding environment where green sea turtles are found. Sea turtles do live in very complex ecosystems, with both near-shore habitats and several years in the open ocean, which makes study of ecosystem associations difficult. Even so, observations support the hypothesis that near-shore habitats have a strong correlation with the disease, as newly recruited individuals from the pelagic life phase have never been found with tumours, and when migrating to more shallow ocean zones, such as the neritic zone, individuals still remain free from FP, but when entering lagoon systems, turtles may become infected. The high prevalence of FP is also associated with habitats’ poor quality, while FP is absent in some habitats of good quality.