Meiofauna Life on Loggerhead Sea Turtles-Diversely Structured Abundance and Biodiversity Hotspots That Challenge the Meiofauna Paradox
Sea turtles migrate thousands of miles annually between foraging and breeding areas, carrying dozens of epibiont species with them on their journeys. Most sea turtle epibiont studies have focused on large-sized organisms, those visible to the naked eye. Here, we report previously undocumented levels...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-05-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/5/203 |
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| author | Jeroen Ingels Yirina Valdes Letícia P. Pontes Alexsandra C. Silva Patrícia F. Neres Gustavo V. V. Corrêa Ian Silver-Gorges Mariana M.P.B. Fuentes Anthony Gillis Lindsay Hooper Matthew Ware Carrie O’Reilly Quintin Bergman Julia Danyuk Sofia Sanchez Zarate Laura I. Acevedo Natale Giovanni A. P. dos Santos |
| author_facet | Jeroen Ingels Yirina Valdes Letícia P. Pontes Alexsandra C. Silva Patrícia F. Neres Gustavo V. V. Corrêa Ian Silver-Gorges Mariana M.P.B. Fuentes Anthony Gillis Lindsay Hooper Matthew Ware Carrie O’Reilly Quintin Bergman Julia Danyuk Sofia Sanchez Zarate Laura I. Acevedo Natale Giovanni A. P. dos Santos |
| author_sort | Jeroen Ingels |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sea turtles migrate thousands of miles annually between foraging and breeding areas, carrying dozens of epibiont species with them on their journeys. Most sea turtle epibiont studies have focused on large-sized organisms, those visible to the naked eye. Here, we report previously undocumented levels of epibiont abundance and biodiversity for loggerhead sea turtles (<i>Caretta caretta</i>), by focusing on the microscopic meiofauna. During the peak of the 2018 loggerhead nesting season at St. George Island, Florida, USA, we sampled all epibionts from 24 carapaces. From the subsamples, we identified 38,874 meiofauna individuals belonging to 20 higher taxa. This means 810,753 individuals were recovered in our survey, with an average of 33,781 individuals per carapace. Of 6992 identified nematodes, 111 different genera were observed. To our knowledge, such levels of sea turtle epibiont abundance and diversity have never been recorded. Loggerhead carapaces are without doubt hotspots of meiofaunal and nematode diversity, especially compared to other non-sedimentary substrates. The posterior carapace sections harbored higher diversity and evenness compared to the anterior and middle sections, suggesting increased colonization and potentially facilitation favoring posterior carapace epibiosis, or increased disturbance on the anterior and middle carapace sections. Our findings also shed new light on the meiofauna paradox: “How do small, benthic meiofauna organisms become cosmopolitan over large geographic ranges?” Considering high loggerhead epibiont colonization, the large distances loggerheads migrate for reproduction and feeding, and the evolutionary age and sheer numbers of sea turtles worldwide, potentially large-scale exchange and dispersal for meiofauna through phoresis is implied. We distinguished different groups of loggerhead carapaces based on divergent epibiont communities, suggesting distinct epibiont colonization processes. These epibiont observations hold potential for investigating loggerhead movements and, hence, their conservation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:42:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0a76bee1f7174549820ea87ebfb58b6c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:42:27Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-0a76bee1f7174549820ea87ebfb58b6c2023-11-20T01:03:04ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182020-05-0112520310.3390/d12050203Meiofauna Life on Loggerhead Sea Turtles-Diversely Structured Abundance and Biodiversity Hotspots That Challenge the Meiofauna ParadoxJeroen Ingels0Yirina Valdes1Letícia P. Pontes2Alexsandra C. Silva3Patrícia F. Neres4Gustavo V. V. Corrêa5Ian Silver-Gorges6Mariana M.P.B. Fuentes7Anthony Gillis8Lindsay Hooper9Matthew Ware10Carrie O’Reilly11Quintin Bergman12Julia Danyuk13Sofia Sanchez Zarate14Laura I. Acevedo Natale15Giovanni A. P. dos Santos16Coastal and Marine Laboratory, Florida State University, St Teresa, FL 32358, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Paraíba, 58397-000 Areia-PB, BrazilZoology Department, Federal University of Pernambuco, 50670-901 Recife-PE, BrazilZoology Department, Federal University of Pernambuco, 50670-901 Recife-PE, BrazilZoology Department, Federal University of Pernambuco, 50670-901 Recife-PE, BrazilZoology Department, Federal University of Pernambuco, 50670-901 Recife-PE, BrazilDepartment of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USADepartment of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USADepartment of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USADepartment of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USADepartment of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USADepartment of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USAPublic Works-Coastal Division, Indian River County, Vero Beach, FL 32960, USAFlorida Department of Environmental Protection, Tallahassee, FL 32399, USADepartment of Computer Science and Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USACoastal and Marine Laboratory, Florida State University, St Teresa, FL 32358, USAZoology Department, Federal University of Pernambuco, 50670-901 Recife-PE, BrazilSea turtles migrate thousands of miles annually between foraging and breeding areas, carrying dozens of epibiont species with them on their journeys. Most sea turtle epibiont studies have focused on large-sized organisms, those visible to the naked eye. Here, we report previously undocumented levels of epibiont abundance and biodiversity for loggerhead sea turtles (<i>Caretta caretta</i>), by focusing on the microscopic meiofauna. During the peak of the 2018 loggerhead nesting season at St. George Island, Florida, USA, we sampled all epibionts from 24 carapaces. From the subsamples, we identified 38,874 meiofauna individuals belonging to 20 higher taxa. This means 810,753 individuals were recovered in our survey, with an average of 33,781 individuals per carapace. Of 6992 identified nematodes, 111 different genera were observed. To our knowledge, such levels of sea turtle epibiont abundance and diversity have never been recorded. Loggerhead carapaces are without doubt hotspots of meiofaunal and nematode diversity, especially compared to other non-sedimentary substrates. The posterior carapace sections harbored higher diversity and evenness compared to the anterior and middle sections, suggesting increased colonization and potentially facilitation favoring posterior carapace epibiosis, or increased disturbance on the anterior and middle carapace sections. Our findings also shed new light on the meiofauna paradox: “How do small, benthic meiofauna organisms become cosmopolitan over large geographic ranges?” Considering high loggerhead epibiont colonization, the large distances loggerheads migrate for reproduction and feeding, and the evolutionary age and sheer numbers of sea turtles worldwide, potentially large-scale exchange and dispersal for meiofauna through phoresis is implied. We distinguished different groups of loggerhead carapaces based on divergent epibiont communities, suggesting distinct epibiont colonization processes. These epibiont observations hold potential for investigating loggerhead movements and, hence, their conservation.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/5/203sea turtlesloggerheadsmarine biodiversitymeiofaunaepibiontsFlorida |
| spellingShingle | Jeroen Ingels Yirina Valdes Letícia P. Pontes Alexsandra C. Silva Patrícia F. Neres Gustavo V. V. Corrêa Ian Silver-Gorges Mariana M.P.B. Fuentes Anthony Gillis Lindsay Hooper Matthew Ware Carrie O’Reilly Quintin Bergman Julia Danyuk Sofia Sanchez Zarate Laura I. Acevedo Natale Giovanni A. P. dos Santos Meiofauna Life on Loggerhead Sea Turtles-Diversely Structured Abundance and Biodiversity Hotspots That Challenge the Meiofauna Paradox Diversity sea turtles loggerheads marine biodiversity meiofauna epibionts Florida |
| title | Meiofauna Life on Loggerhead Sea Turtles-Diversely Structured Abundance and Biodiversity Hotspots That Challenge the Meiofauna Paradox |
| title_full | Meiofauna Life on Loggerhead Sea Turtles-Diversely Structured Abundance and Biodiversity Hotspots That Challenge the Meiofauna Paradox |
| title_fullStr | Meiofauna Life on Loggerhead Sea Turtles-Diversely Structured Abundance and Biodiversity Hotspots That Challenge the Meiofauna Paradox |
| title_full_unstemmed | Meiofauna Life on Loggerhead Sea Turtles-Diversely Structured Abundance and Biodiversity Hotspots That Challenge the Meiofauna Paradox |
| title_short | Meiofauna Life on Loggerhead Sea Turtles-Diversely Structured Abundance and Biodiversity Hotspots That Challenge the Meiofauna Paradox |
| title_sort | meiofauna life on loggerhead sea turtles diversely structured abundance and biodiversity hotspots that challenge the meiofauna paradox |
| topic | sea turtles loggerheads marine biodiversity meiofauna epibionts Florida |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/5/203 |
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