Epibionts of juvenile hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata in the Sanctuary of Sea Turtles of Rio Lagartos, Yucatan, México.

Studies about the relationship between sea turtles and epibionts are important for their conservation, because it gives us information about the effects of the epibionts on the turtles. During July and August of 1999, we counted the epibionts attached to each corporal region of 37 juvenile hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) captured in the Sanctuary of Sea Turtles of Rio Lagartos, Yucatán, México. The average size of the turtles was 36.4 (± 7.4) cm straight length. Barnacles presented the highest relative abundance: Platylepas sp. (97.2%), attached mainly to the neck and fins; Chelonibia testudinaria represented 1.6% attached only on the carapace and plastron. Leeches (Ozobranchus margoi) were found in the plastron and cloaca of two sea turtles; 43 mussels were registered under the scutes of the shell of one turtle. Filamentous algae were present in 20 turtles, mainly on the carapace. Oysters, amphipods, remoras, algae and percebes were scarcely registered. In general, the organisms associated to immature hawksbillturtles were commensals, although high amounts of epibionts could affect the energy cost of the sea turtleswhen they are swimming. In some cases the relation turned out to be parasitic, when the epibionts createdpossible sites of infections.