Endoparasites and epibionts of loggerhead and green sea turtles from the eastern Mediterranean, Turkey: A detailed assessment

Düşen S., Kaska Y., Yılmaz M., Ulubeli S. A.

HELMINTHOLOGIA, cilt.62, sa.1, ss.40-49, 2025 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 62 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.2478/helm-2025-0009
  • Dergi Adı: HELMINTHOLOGIA
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Animal Behavior Abstracts, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Veterinary Science Database
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.40-49
  • Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Two species of sea turtles, the loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and the green turtle (Chelonia mydas),

use Turkey’s Mediterranean and rarely Aegean Sea coasts for nesting and foraging. The injured sea

turtles are regularly transferred for treatment to the Sea Turtle Research, Rescue and Rehabilitation

Center (DEKAMER) Muğla Ortaca-Dalyan (Turkey) from the different coasts of the these two seasthese

include Çanakkale, Balıkesir, İzmir and Aydın (Aegean Sea); Antalya and Mersin (Mediterranean

Sea) and also Muğla (it has two coasts both Aegean Sea and Mediterranean Sea). In this

study, both internal and external parasites and epibiont species of turtles that died during treatment

were examined. This is the fi rst detailed parasitological and epibiont study on these sea turtles in the

Turkish coast. Twenty-two adult Caretta caretta and twelve green turtles were examined and these

symbiotic groups were recorded: endoparasitic digeneans and nematodes, and epibiotic annelids

and cirripeds (barnacles). The observed three digenean species (Pyelosomum renicapite, Learedius

learedi and Deuterobaris proteus) are recorded in Turkey for the fi rst time. Also, Ch. mydas and C.

caretta represent new host records for these digenean species in Turkey. Ch. mydas represents a

new host record for two cirriped species (Chelonibia testudinaria and Lepas hillii) from Turkey and C.

caretta also represent a new host record for Ozobranchus margoi from Turkey. Based on the available

literature, the implications of these symbionts on sea turtle health are discussed, highlighting the

importance of recording parasitic data of sea turtles. The study of internal and external parasites is

very important, especially for the treatment of sea turtles under rehabilitation.