Biodiversity of carapace epibiont diatoms in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta Linnaeus 1758) in the Aegean Sea Turkish coast

Abstract

Background. The Aegean Sea coast of Turkey hosts one of the most important nesting grounds for loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Mediterranean Sea. Previous studies have revealed that the sea turtle carapace provides favourable conditions for various epibiontic organisms. Epibionts occurring on the carapace have been examined from different locations in the oceans.