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Composition of the organismic assemblage associated with Caretta caretta

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2005

Miltiadis-Spyridon Kitsos
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, School of Biology, Aristoteleio University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Magdalini Christodoulou
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, School of Biology, Aristoteleio University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Christos Arvanitidis
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Technology and Management, Institute of Marine Biology of Crete, PO Box 2214, 710 03 Heraklion, Greece
Michalis Mavidis
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, School of Biology, Aristoteleio University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Ioannis Kirmitzoglou
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, School of Biology, Aristoteleio University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Athanasios Koukouras
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, School of Biology, Aristoteleio University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract

The organismic assemblage associated with Caretta caretta was studied in 37 loggerhead turtles, washed ashore dead at various localities in the northern Aegean Sea. A total number of 63 macrobenthic species and 17 species of macroalgae were identified. From these species, 41 and 13 respectively are reported for the first time as epibionts of this turtle. Analysis of the epibiont species distribution on six loggerhead turtles gave some evidence regarding the settlement preferences of certain epibiont species. From a biogeographical point of view, 61·3% of the epibiont species were cosmopolitan, 30·7% had an Atlanto-Mediterranean distribution, while 8% were Mediterranean endemics.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2005 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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