Diversity of Epibionts Associated with <i>Lepidochelys olivacea</i> (Eschscholtz 1829) Sea Turtles Nesting in the Mexican South Pacific
2021
Brenda Sarahí Ramos-Rivera | Himmer Castro-Mondragon | José Gabriel Kuk-Dzul | Pedro Flores-Rodríguez | Rafael Flores-Garza
The present study contributes to the knowledge of epibionts recorded on sea turtles that nested on a beach in the South Pacific of Mexico. A total of 125 <i>Lepidochelys olivacea</i> turtles nested on Llano Real beach, Guerrero, Mexico, were examined. We collected 450 conspicuous organisms from 8 species from 43 turtles. The corresponding data analysis was carried out to obtain the relative abundance, the relationship between turtle sizes and the presence of organisms, the similarity of species between the sampling months, and the interspecific relationships between the epibionts and the turtles observed. <i>Chelonibia testudinaria</i> was the most abundant species, while <i>Remora remora</i> was the least abundant species. The turtles were divided into six body sections, with the greatest abundance of these organisms located in the head–neck section of turtles, and there was a significant difference in the size of the turtles that presented epibionts and those that did not. <i>C. testudinaria</i> showed greater similarity between sampling months, and the interspecific relationships recorded were commensalism, parasitism, amensalism, and protocooperation. This research contributes the first record of epibionts in <i>L. olivacea</i> nesting in Guerrero, Mexico.
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