Invertebrate infestation on eggs and hatchlings of the loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta, in Dalaman, Turkey

Abstract

The damage caused by some invertebrates to the eggs and hatchlings of loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta, was investigated during the summer of 2002 on Dalaman beach, Turkey. The specimens, identified to family or genus levels, from nine families representing seven orders were recorded as infesting nests of loggerhead turtles. The heaviest impacts on loggerhead turtle nests was made by Pimelia sp. (Tenebrionidae, Coleoptera). Twenty-four (36.3%) out of 66 intact loggerhead hatched nests were affected by these larvae. Larval damage by Pimelia sp. was recorded in 188 (10.6%) out of 1773 eggs, but only in two (0.28%) hatchlings. The results show that fewer insects were in the nest the further from vegetation and therefore the relocation of nests from the water's edge to further inland close to vegetation may increase the infestation rate of the eggs. © 2006 Springer.