Epibiont Assemblages on Nesting Hawksbill Turtles Show Site-Specificity in the Persian Gulf

Sea turtle epibionts can provide insights into the hosts' habitat use. However, at present, there is a lack of information on sea epibiont communities in many locations worldwide. Here, we describe 46 hawksbill turtles ( Eretmochelys imbricata ) Persian Gulf. Specifically, sampled 28 from Dayyer-Nakhiloo National Park (DNNP) northern Gulf and 18 Shibderaz beach Strait Hormuz. A total 54 macro, meio, micro-epibiont taxa were identified, including 29 DNNP. The barnacles Chelonibia testudinaria Platylepas hexastylos , as well harpacticoid copepods Rotaliid foraminifers, had highest frequency occurrence found almost all individuals. Harpacticoids most abundant epizoic (19.55 ± 3.9 ind. per 9 cm 2 followed by forams Quinqueloculina spp.: 6.25 1.5 Rotaliids: 6.02 1.3 ). Our results showed significant differences between study sites composition micro macro-epibiont turtles. We speculate that largely influenced local environmental conditions.