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

Javad Loghmannia,Bahram H Kiabi,Ali Nasrolahi,Mohsen Rezaie-Atagholipour

doi:10.3389/fevo.2021.690022

Javad Loghmannia, Bahram H Kiabi + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.690022

Copy DOI

Abstract

Sea turtle epibionts can provide insights into the hosts' habitat use. However, at present, there is a lack of information on sea turtle epibiont communities in many locations worldwide. Here, we describe the epibiont communities of 46 hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in the Persian Gulf. Specifically, we sampled 28 turtles from the Dayyer-Nakhiloo National Park (DNNP) in the northern Gulf and 18 turtles from Shibderaz beach in the Strait of Hormuz. A total of 54 macro, meio, and micro-epibiont taxa were identified, including 46 taxa from Shibderaz and 29 taxa from DNNP. The barnacles Chelonibia testudinaria and Platylepas hexastylos, as well as harpacticoid copepods and Rotaliid foraminifers, had the highest frequency of occurrence found on almost all turtle individuals. Harpacticoids were the most abundant epizoic taxa (19.55 ± 3.9 ind. per 9 cm2) followed by forams (Quinqueloculina spp.: 6.25 ± 1.5 ind. per 9 cm2 and Rotaliids: 6.02 ± 1.3 ind. per 9 cm2). Our results showed significant differences between the study sites in the composition of micro and macro-epibiont communities found on hawksbill turtles. We speculate that the differences in epibiont communities were largely influenced by local environmental conditions.

Highlights

Epibiosis is a symbiotic relationship where one organism lives on the surface of the other (Wahl and Mark, 1999; Harder, 2008)
We present the first comprehensive dataset on the diversity, assemblage, and abundance of macro, meio, and microepibionts of hawksbill turtles nesting at two distant sites along the Iranian coastline of the Persian Gulf, one at the northwest coast, and the other at the Strait of Hormuz
The majority of research on turtle epibionts has focused on the epibiont loads on the carapace, presuming that the abundance of epibionts is highest on this body part

Summary

Introduction

Epibiosis is a symbiotic relationship where one organism (epibiont) lives on the surface of the other (basibiont) (Wahl and Mark, 1999; Harder, 2008). Micro-epibiota on sea turtles, represented mostly by colonizing diatoms, have recently been assessed (Majewska et al, 2015, 2017; Robinson et al, 2016; van de Vijver et al, 2020). Some of these epibionts, such as the barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria, have a wide geographical distribution (Rawson et al, 2003; Lazo-Wasem et al, 2011), whereas some others, like some short-lived diatom species, may have a relatively narrow and local distribution (Abarca et al, 2014)

Methods

Results

Conclusion