Distribution patterns of the barnacle, Chelonibia testudinaria, on juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Bahia Magdalena, Mexico

Nájera-Hillman, Eduardo

doi:10.22201/ib.20078706e.2012.4.1272

Cited by 7 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…BCI is derived from the relationship between an animal´s length and weight resulting in an indirect estimate of sea turtle nutritional and health status [ 37 ]. Our study found similar BCI values to those reported in healthy populations of black turtles ( Chelonia mydas agassizii ) in the Gulf of California and along the western coast of Baja California’s foraging areas [ 38 – 41 ]. The Gulf of California has been previously identified as an important foraging habitat for multiple sea turtle species [ 15 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Blood biochemistry of olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles foraging in northern Sinaloa, Mexico

et al. 2018

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Blood parameters provide an excellent tool to evaluate the health status of wildlife. However, there are few studies about health parameters of sea turtles in Mexico. For olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), no information was available to establish the health baseline for the species. The objective of this study was to establish reference blood biochemistry values for olive ridley turtles in the northern Sinaloa foraging area. Between 2013 and 2015, 82 olive ridley turtles were captured. Body condition index (BCI) presented a mean of 1.46 ± 0.14 (1.17–2.02) that categorized the population with excellent body condition; in addition, 99% of the turtles captured had a good physical appearance. Blood was collected for biochemistry analysis from 60 turtles. Significantly higher values of total protein, albumin, A/G ratio (albumin/globulin) and PCV (packed cell volume or hematocrit) were observed in adult when compared to subadult turtles. On the other hand, no significant differences were found when females and males were compared. Based on the BCI, physical assessment, and blood parameters, and compared to other sea turtle species, olive ridley turtles in northern Sinaloa were considered in excellent health. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to establish normal blood biochemistry values of foraging olive ridley turtles in northern Sinaloa.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Blood biochemistry of olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles foraging in northern Sinaloa, Mexico

et al. 2018

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“…The discovery that epibiont loads are higher for olive ridley turtles on the soft tissues, such as the head and tail, relative to the carapace and plastron was somewhat unexpected. Indeed, comparable studies that conducted quantitative assessments of epibiont distributions on both green and hawksbill turtles found the majority of epibiotic barnacles on the carapace and plastron [19,20,21]. Furthermore, it has often been assumed although there is little quantitative data to support it, that for loggerhead turtles the highest quantities of epibionts are found on the carapace (see [33]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tellingly, even some of the most seminal studies investigating the distribution patterns of epibionts on the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta and green turtle Chelonia mydas hosts have focused exclusively on the carapace [8,18]. There are only three studies of which the authors are aware that have compared the abundance of epibionts from over the entire body: Nájera-Hillman et al (2012) [19], Devin and Sadeghi (2010) [20], Razaghian et al (2019) [21]. Interestingly, these studies, which focused on either hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata or green turtles Chelonia mydas , identified that epibiotic barnacles were more common on the carapace and plastron than the soft tissues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial distribution of epibionts on olive ridley sea turtles at Playa Ostional, Costa Rica

et al. 2019

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There is a wealth of published information on the epibiont communities of sea turtles, yet many of these studies have exclusively sampled epibionts found only on the carapace. Considering that epibionts may be found on almost all body-surfaces and that it is highly plausible to expect different regions of the body to host distinct epibiont taxa, there is a need for quantitative information on the spatial variation of epibiont communities on turtles. To achieve this, we measured how total epibiont abundance and biomass on olive ridley turtles Lepidochelys olivacea varies among four body-areas of the hosts (n = 30). We showed that epibiont loads on olive ridleys are higher, both in terms of number and biomass, on the skin than they are on the carapace or plastron. This contrasts with previous findings for other hard-shelled sea turtles, where epibionts are usually more abundant on the carapace or plastron. Moreover, the arguably most ubiquitous epibiont taxon for other hard-shelled sea turtles, the barnacle Chelonibia spp., only occurred in relatively low numbers on olive ridleys and the barnacles Stomatolepas elegans and Platylepas hexastylos are far more abundant. We postulate that these differences between the epibiont communities of different sea turtle taxa could indicate that the carapaces of olive ridley turtles provide a more challenging substratum for epibionts than do the hard shells of other sea turtles. In addition, we conclude that it is important to conduct full body surveys when attempting to produce a holistic qualitative or quantitative characterization of the epibiont communities of sea turtles.

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“…In contrast, barnacles and other commensals use sea turtles primarily as a substratum or foraging platform (Frick et al ., 2002) with minor or equivocal impacts on the turtles' health (Stamper et al ., 2005; Flint et al ., 2010). Depending on the species of barnacle, they fasten onto the carapace and plastron, on the head, or the flippers and skin of their host turtles (Frick & Ross, 2001; Devin & Sadeghi, 2010; Ooi & Palaniappan, 2011; Nájera-Hillman et al ., 2012). There are two types of attachment modes across different life stages of barnacles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abundance, placement and sexual identity of the epizoic barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria relative to the size and species of host turtles in Mabul Island, Malaysia

2020

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Sea turtles are partners in commensal relationships with a variety of epibionts, including barnacles. The acorn barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria is one species commonly found associated with sea turtles and other marine fauna throughout temperate to tropical waters including the Indo-Pacific. We conducted a study to assess the occurrence of this barnacle, relative to host life stage and species in a mixed foraging population of green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles (juvenile, sub-adult, adults (female and male)) in Mabul Island, Sabah, Malaysia (Celebes Sea). Expecting similar relative abundance by life stage, we found instead a significant effect between the combined dependent variables (abundance and size of barnacles) and the life stages of sea turtles in Mabul after controlling for the covariates of size and species of sea turtles (F(8, 428) = 5.77, P < 0.001, Pillai = 0.19). Among green turtles with barnacles, though adult males had larger barnacles compared with the female turtles, the mean barnacle abundance on adult females (43.4 individuals ± 5.19 SD) was higher than all other life stages. Most of the barnacles (85.6%; N = 1931) were found on the plastron of the sea turtles. The highest number of barnacle reacquisition was found among the juvenile turtles. In assessing the complemental males of the barnacles, we found they were consistently attached to the shells of the larger of the hermaphrodites from each region of the host's body despite average shell-size differences with each region.

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Distribution patterns of the barnacle, Chelonibia testudinaria, on juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Bahia Magdalena, Mexico

Cited by 7 publications

References 26 publications

Blood biochemistry of olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles foraging in northern Sinaloa, Mexico

Blood biochemistry of olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles foraging in northern Sinaloa, Mexico

Spatial distribution of epibionts on olive ridley sea turtles at Playa Ostional, Costa Rica

Abundance, placement and sexual identity of the epizoic barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria relative to the size and species of host turtles in Mabul Island, Malaysia

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