Abstract. Marine turtles harbour a variety of epizoa, some of which are specific to these hosts, but shelled gastropod and bivalve mollusks were previously unrecorded on marine turtles. Thousands of turtles of five species from all major oceans were examined. Loggerheads, Caretta caretta, from Greece and the states of Georgia and Florida, USA, were the most remarkable hosts to mollusks. At least 15 species of bivalves and 5 species of gastropods were found on turtles. Many turtles hosting mollusks carried only one species and few individuals. Edible oysters, the most common molluscan epizoan on Grecian Loggerheads, may grow to more than 10cm in diameter, so in some cases the mollusks may survive for several years on the turtle. Large epizoan bivalves may in turn serve themselves as substrates for epizoa, molluscan or otherwise. There are no known obligate relationships between turtles and mollusks, although there may be a parasitic relationship between the Loggerhead turtle, a spirorchid blood fluke, and a gastropod intermediate host. It is unknown if turtles carrying mollusks are at a disadvantage.
As with other turtles, the postemergent movements, overwintering behaviours, and survivorship of hatchling Diamond-backed Terrapins ( Malaclemys terrapin (Schoepff, 1793)) are poorly known, but anecdotal reports suggest that they may spend more time on land than most aquatic turtles. We investigated this behaviour using drift fences with pitfall traps on the island of Ruler’s Bar, Jamaica Bay, New York, fall 2006 to spring 2008. We captured 324 live hatchling Terrapins, 95 were recaptured at least once, and we found 43 dead. After emergence from nests in the fall, most hatchlings moved upland away from the water; this pattern was reversed in the spring. Hatchling body sizes shrank during winter, probably owing to desiccation, and hatchlings were more likely to move on warmer days and days without precipitation. We recaptured some hatchlings on land as long as 9 months after emergence. As a result, hatchling M. terrapin were seen on land from April to December, well outside fall and spring during which they emerge from nests, and we found strong evidence that hatchling M. terrapin overwinter on land outside their nests. One important nest predator (raccoons, Procyon lotor (L., 1758)) was also an important hatchling predator, as were Norway rats ( Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout, 1769)). Future work should investigate the terrestrial microhabitats used by hatchling M. terrapin, and management should protect hatchlings during this life stage.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.