Epibionts of by-caught Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta): Drini Bay, Albania

This study represents the results of the epibionts found on 157 loggerhead turtles by-caught at Drini bay. We found the presence of the organisms living throughout their lifetime in the host, as well as those who use the turtle for a part of their lifecycle. In total eight taxa of epibionts, including algae, bivalves, annelids and crustaceans were found living on the turtles, of which all except for the leeches (Ozobranchus spp.) represent a commensally relationship with the host. Chelonibia testudinaria was the most frequently observed turtle epibiont and barnacle in this study.