Carapace epibionts of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting at Canaveral National Seashore, Florida
نویسندگان
چکیده
A survey of the epibionts inhabiting the carapace of loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta (Linnaeus) nesting on Canaveral National Seashore, Florida was conducted from 2003–2004. Epibionts were sampled and identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible. Eleven newly documented epibiont species were observed from 52 individual loggerheads. We present the first records of sea urchins as loggerhead epibionts. Data are presented on the behavioural, physical, and ecological characteristics of some of these newly documented species to understand better the relationship between loggerhead turtles and their epibiota.
منابع مشابه
Distribution patterns of epibionts on the carapace of loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta
The spatial distribution of epibionts on carapaces of marine turtles may be influenced by variation in recruitment dynamics, water flow patterns, and levels of disturbance on different regions of the carapace. We determined the distribution of 18 taxa of epibionts among nine zones on the carapace of 18 nesting loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) on Wassaw Island, Georgia, USA. Frequency of occ...
متن کاملFirst report of the epizoic red alga Polysiphonia carettia (Hollenberg, 1971) on the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta in the Adriatic Sea
Sea turtles are widely distributed in temperate and tropical seas, and their carapace is often colonized by species of macroalgae. There have been several studies on the epibionts of loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta Linnaeus, from different parts of the world (KITSOS, et al., 2005; PFALLER et al., 2006, 2008). The carapaces of loggerhead turtles represent an important substratum for a variet...
متن کاملBlood analytes of oceanic-juvenile loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) from Azorean waters: reference intervals, size-relevant correlations and comparisons to neritic loggerheads from western Atlantic coastal waters
Blood analyte reference intervals are scarce for immature life stages of the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). The objectives of this study were to (1) document reference intervals of packed cell volume (PCV) and 20 plasma chemistry analytes from wild oceanic-juvenile stage loggerhead turtles from Azorean waters, (2) investigate correlations with body size (minimum straight carapace leng...
متن کاملPolymodal foraging in adult female loggerheads (Caretta caretta)
To determine whether loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting in southeastern USA exhibit polymorphic foraging strategies, we evaluated skin samples for stable isotopes of carbon (dC) and nitrogen (dN) from 310 loggerheads from four locations on the east coast of Florida and epibionts from 48 loggerheads. We found a dichotomy between a depleted dC cluster and an enriched dC cluster. Epibion...
متن کاملOrigin of juvenile loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in a tropical developmental habitat in Caribbean Panamá INTRODUCTION The migratory lifestyle and temporally protracted life
Maximum likelihood mixed stock analysis was used to identify the natal origin of immature loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in a tropical developmental habitat in Caribbean Panamá. Approximately 65–70% of the loggerhead turtles in Chiriquí Lagoon originate from South Florida nesting beaches, and the other 30–35% originate from Mexico. Haplotype frequencies of the Chiriquí Lagoon loggerhead p...
متن کامل