Hostname: page-component-669899f699-ggqkh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-27T21:46:54.066Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

New host records of the turtle barnacle, Cylindrolepas sinica: a case study of sea turtles' behaviour and their epibionts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2009

Ryota Hayashi
Ryota Hayashi*
Affiliation:
Historical Geology & Paleontology Laboratory, Department of the Earth Science, Chiba University, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: R. Hayashi, Historical Geology & Paleontology Laboratory, Department of the Earth Science, Chiba University, Chiba 263-8522, Japan email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

This study examined epibionts on three species of sea turtles (loggerhead, green and hawksbill) obtained in Japanese waters as bycatch, strandings, or landings for breeding. Species diversity of barnacle epibionts on sea turtles appears to be affected by the behaviour and foraging habitat of the turtles. Green and hawksbill turtles are found in neritic areas all year round, while loggerhead turtles are found in inshore areas only during the breeding season in Japan. The turtle barnacle Cylindrolepas sinica is found on green and hawksbill turtles frequently, but occurrence on the loggerhead turtle is quite rare (1/190: a new host record). The present study recorded a single individual of loggerhead turtle (a large male) with C. sinica attached. This turtle was captured in August and December at the site of tagging on Okinawa. The recaptured records indicate that the loggerhead turtle wintered around Okinawa rather than migrating to the open sea as most Japanese loggerheads do and resulted in the attachment of C. sinica. Satellite tracking has been an important tool in investigating the sea turtles’ life histories; however, this method is costly and can elucidate migration routes only after the attachment of a transmitter. In contrast, studying the diversity of the epibionts can provide information on the foraging habitat (infection site) and behaviour of the turtles. Such a method can have benefits in getting large sample sizes at nesting beaches, from fishery bycatch and strandings.

Keywords

turtle barnacleCylindrolepas sinicaloggerhead turtleneriticoceanichabitat utilization
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 2 , January 2009 , e165
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Bowen, B.W., Abreu-Grobois, F.A., Balazs, G.H., Kamezaki, N., Limpus, C.J. and Ferl, R.J. (1995) Trans-Pacific migrations of the loggerhead sea turtle demonstrated with mitochondrial DNA markers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 92, 3731–3734.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caine, E.A. (1986) Carapace epibionts of nesting loggerhead sea turtles: Atlantic coast of USA. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 95, 15–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carr, A., Ogren, G. and McVea, C. (1980) Apparent hibernation by the Atlantic loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta off Cape Canaveral, Florida. Biological Conservation 19, 7–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frick, M.G., Williams, K.L. and Robinson, M. (1998) Epibionts associated with nesting loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in Georgia, USA. Herpetological Review 29, 211–214.Google Scholar
Godley, B.J., Blumenthal, J.M., Broderick, A.C., Coyne, M.S., Godfrey, M.H., Hawks, L.A. and Witt, M.J. (2008) Satellite tracking of sea turtles: where have we been and where do we go next? Endangered Species Research 3, 1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hatase, H., Kinoshita, M., Bando, T., Kamezaki, N., Sato, K., Matsuzawa, Y., Goto, K., Omuta, K., Nakashima, Y., Takeshita, H. and Sakamoto, W. (2002a) Population structure of loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta, nesting in Japan: bottlenecks on the Pacific population. Marine Biology 141, 299–305.Google Scholar
Hatase, H., Takai, N., Matsuzawa, Y., Sakamoto, W., Omuta, K., Goto, K., Arai, N. and Fujiwara, T. (2002b) Size-related differences in feeding habitat use of adult female loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta around Japan determined by stable isotope analyses and satellite telemetry. Marine Ecology Progress Series 233, 273–281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayashi, R. and Tsuji, K. (2008) Spatial distribution of turtle barnacles on the green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas. Ecological Research 23, 121–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hirate, K. (2002) Reports on the recaptured sea turtles in north eastern part of Okinawajima. Umigame Newsletter of Japan 56, 16–17. [In Japanese]Google Scholar
Kobayashi, D.R., Polovina, J.J., Parker, D.M., Kamezaki, N., Cheng, I.J., Uchida, I., Dutton, P.H. and Balazs, G.H. (2008) Pelagic habitat characterization of loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, in the North Pacific Ocean (1997–2006): insights from satellite tag tracking and remotely sensed data. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 356, 96–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koch, A.U. and Willan, C.C. (2007) Natator depressus (flatback sea turtle) habitat. Herpetological Review 38, 448.Google Scholar
Limpus, C.J. and Limpus, D.J. (2007) Biology of the loggerhead turtle in Western South Pacific Ocean foraging areas. In Bolten, A.B. and Witherington, B.E. (eds) Loggerhead sea turtles. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books, pp. 93–113.Google Scholar
Matsuura, I. and Nakamura, K. (1993) Attachment pattern of the turtle barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria on carapace of nesting loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta. Bulletin of the Japanese Society of Scientific Fisheries 59, 1803.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McClellan, C.M. and Read, A.J. (2007) Complexity and variation in loggerhead sea turtle life history. Biology Letters 3, 592–594.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mortimer, J.A. (1995) Factors influencing beach selection by nesting sea turtles. In Bjorndal, K.A. (ed.) Biology and conservation of sea turtles. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. 45–51.Google Scholar
NRC (National Research Council, Committee on Sea Turtle Conservation) (1990) Decline of the sea turtles: causes and prevention. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
Ren, X. (1980) Turtle barnacles of the Xisha Islands, Guangdong Province, China. Studia Marina Sinica 17, 187–197.Google Scholar
Sakamoto, W., Bando, T., Arai, N. and Baba, N. (1997) Migration paths of the adult female and male loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta determined through satellite telemetry. Fisheries Science 63, 547–552.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spotila, J.R., Reina, R.D., Steyermark, A.C., Plotkin, P.T. and Paladino, F.V. (2000) Pacific leatherback turtles face extinction. Nature 405, 529–530.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whiting, S.D., Murray, W., Macrae, I., Thorn, R., Chongkin, M. and Koch, A.U. (2008) Non-migratory breeding by isolated green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Indian Ocean: biological and conservation implications. Naturwissenschaften 95, 355–360.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed