Title: Carapace epibionts of nesting loggerhead sea turtles: Atlantic coast of U.S.A.
Abstract: A survey of carapace epibionts was conducted on nesting loggerhead turtles, Caretta carettacaretta (L.), along a latitudinal gradient from South Carolina to Florida. The three-year survey on 138 turtles yielded 48 epibiotic species representing 6 phyla. Distribution of the epibionts on the carapace and factors that may influence the densities of the epibiont populations are discussed. Two distinct assemblages of carapace epibionts are recognized: a northern population and a southern population. The separation between the two populations is between Cape Canaveral and Daytona Beach, Florida. Indicator species within each carapace community are listed. Due to the nature of colonization by the epibionts, the presence of two distinct carapace communities suggests discrete northern and southern populations of loggerhead turtles along the Atlantic coast of the U.S.A.