Epibionts are floristic and faunistic benthonic organisms living attached to the skin of another animal; this phenomenon is well known as epibiosis and has been documented for all species of marine turtles. The intera...Epibionts are floristic and faunistic benthonic organisms living attached to the skin of another animal; this phenomenon is well known as epibiosis and has been documented for all species of marine turtles. The interaction between the turtle and epibiotic organisms is to provide substrate for the epibionts communities, their presence are based mainly in the shell and in other anatomical structures in lower intensity. It has been registered that some epibionts affect growth, and can cause diverse damage in anatomical structures like the eyes, mouth, and limbs. They are usually vectors of disease. For such reasons the objective of the present work is to determinate the epibionts species associated with the marine turtle Lepidochelys olivacea in Ceuta beach, Sinaloa, Mexico. During the nesting season May-December of 2008-2009, the female turtles nesting and strandings were monitored and epibionts were collected. Eleven species distributed in the following taxa were obtained： fishes of the family Echeneidae, Hirudineos （Ozobranchus branchiatus, Ozobranchus margoi）, Arthropods （Chelonibia testudinaria, Lepas sp., Conchoderma virgatum） and the first registry of Stephanolepas muricata for Lepidochelys olivacea. According to the records from Ceuta Beach the species of epibionts are still being registered with the exception of Ozobranchus margoi, and Stephanolepas muricata, thus, suggesting further research on epibiont organisms.展开更多
文摘Epibionts are floristic and faunistic benthonic organisms living attached to the skin of another animal; this phenomenon is well known as epibiosis and has been documented for all species of marine turtles. The interaction between the turtle and epibiotic organisms is to provide substrate for the epibionts communities, their presence are based mainly in the shell and in other anatomical structures in lower intensity. It has been registered that some epibionts affect growth, and can cause diverse damage in anatomical structures like the eyes, mouth, and limbs. They are usually vectors of disease. For such reasons the objective of the present work is to determinate the epibionts species associated with the marine turtle Lepidochelys olivacea in Ceuta beach, Sinaloa, Mexico. During the nesting season May-December of 2008-2009, the female turtles nesting and strandings were monitored and epibionts were collected. Eleven species distributed in the following taxa were obtained： fishes of the family Echeneidae, Hirudineos （Ozobranchus branchiatus, Ozobranchus margoi）, Arthropods （Chelonibia testudinaria, Lepas sp., Conchoderma virgatum） and the first registry of Stephanolepas muricata for Lepidochelys olivacea. According to the records from Ceuta Beach the species of epibionts are still being registered with the exception of Ozobranchus margoi, and Stephanolepas muricata, thus, suggesting further research on epibiont organisms.
