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Stomach contents and dietary overlap of three round stingray species (Urobatis halleri, Urotrygon munda, and Urotrygon rogersi) captured off the central Pacific coast of Mexico were analyzed during the two main hydroclimatic periods (T1 and T2) that characterize the environmental variability in the area. The three round stingray species showed a narrow bathymetric distribution range, and the highest abundances were located at 20 m depth in both seasons. In general, the diets were mainly composed of benthic microcrustaceans (caridean shrimps) and to a lesser extent of fishes, polychaetes, and molluscs. The most abundant prey items in the diets were carideans of the families Processidae and Ogyriididae, and penaeids, followed by brachyuran and stomatopod larvae. All three stingrays exhibited a generalist feeding strategy. The diets showed high overlap values during period T1 in both inter- and intraspecies analyses, but lower values during period T2. There was no evidence of ontogenetic diet changes and sex was not a factor for trophic differences. The slight differences among diets were due to seasonal changes in the soft-bottom macrobenthic invertebrate assemblages in the shallow waters, and relationships like predation and competition were not the main factors influencing the population dynamics of the three stingray species.

The effect of wind-induced coastal upwellings on tropical euphausiid abundance and community structure was investigated in the Mexican central Pacific (19°N, 105°W) during a monthly time series (1996−1998). Eight species were identified, of which Euphausia distinguenda contributed between 88 and 90% of the total euphausiid abundance, and E. lamelligera con tributed ~7%. The hydrographic structure (< 200 m depth) and euphausiid species composition had strong seasonality patterns associated with the upwelling (February to May) and downwelling (July to November) periods. Redundancy analysis of euphausiid abundance and community structure as a function of the environmental variables revealed that coastal upwelling index, salinity at 10 m depth, and temperature explained most of the euphausiid abundance variability. Stations sampled during intense upwelling periods had the highest abundance of E. distinguenda and E. lamelligera juveniles and adults. Their abundance was strongly and positively correlated with salinity and abundance of nano-and microphytoplankton, but was negatively correlated with surface temperature. Larvae of E. distinguenda and the oceanic species Nematoscelis gracilis (downwelling ensemble) were strongly associated with warm waters of low phytoplankton abundance. The hepato-somatic index (ratio of hepatopancreas length to carapace length) of E. distinguenda and E. lamelligera adults was significantly larger during mixed and semi-mixed than during stratified periods, providing a useful proxy for euphausiid health and trophic condition. Wind-induced upwelling−downwelling are significant coastal processes that influenced seasonal euphausiid abundance and species composition in this tropical ecosystem, while the strong and brief El Niño event of 1997−98 had only a relatively moderate effect in comparison with that observed on euphausiids from transitional (northwest of Mexico) and temperate (Pacific USA) ecosystems.

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