Trophic Relationships of Demersal Fishes in the Shrimping Zone Off Alvarado Lagoon, Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract

The diet of demersal piscivorous fishes captured as bycatch of the commercial shrimping fleet off the Alvarado lagoonal system, Veracruz, Mexico, was studied. Nine collections distributed throughout the nortes (windy), wet, and dry seasons were made from November 1993 to January 1995. Sampling yielded a total of 646 fishes representing 10 families and 14 species, of which 44.9% had empty digestive tracts and were excluded from analysis. Trichiurus lepturus and Synodus foetens were the most abundant demersal predators in the collections. Differences in food consumption of the 7 most abundant predators were observed among the 3 seasons, with the greatest variety of prey (20 species) taken during the nortes season and the lowest variety (9 species) during the dry season. Five distinct trophic guilds were determined based on an index of relative importance of prey. Prey type and location of prey within the water column helped determine guild classification. The occurrence of different trophic guilds may allow for decreased competition for food resources on the continental shelf off Alvarado, Mexico. RESUMEN Se estudio la dieta de los peces piscívoros demersales capturados como fauna acompañante del camarón en la flota de barcos camaroneros del sistema de lagunas de Alvarado, Veracruz, México. Se obtuvieron nueve colecectas que abarcaron las temporadas de nortes, lluvias y secas desde noviembre de 1993 hasta enero de 1995. Las muestras produjeron un total de 646 peces representados por 10 familias y 14 especies; 44.9% fueron encantrados con el tracto estomacal vacíos y no fueron analizados. Trichiurus lepturus y Synodos foetens fueron los depredadores demersales más abundantes en nuestras muestras. Se observaron diferencias en el consumo de alimento en las tres temporadas. La temporada de nortes mostró la mayor variación de presa (20 especies), y la menor variación se observó en la temporada de secas (9 especies). Cinco distintivos gremios tróficos fueron identificados basados en el índice de importancia relativa de la presa. El tipo de presa y la localización de las presas en la columna de agua permitieron determinar la clasificación de los gremios. La existencia de diferentes gremios tróficos permite una disminución en la competencia por recursos alimenticios en la plataforma continental del Alvarado, México.

Análisis de la comunidad de peces de descarte en la pesca de arrastre de camarón (temporada de lluvias 2013) en la zona centro-sur del litoral veracruzano, México

“…El nivel trófico de la captura obtenido en el presente estudio (3,84 a 4,17) es reflejo de la dominancia de especies con hábitos piscívoros, como lo son Synodus foetens y Scorpaena calcarata, sumado a especies de la familia Triglidae, Tetradontidae y Carangidae, especies anteriormente reportadas para la zona de estudio por Peláez-Rodríguez et al (2005).…”

Elthusa alvaradoensis Rocha-Ramírez, Chávez-López & Bruce, 2005 (Isopoda, Cymothoidae) parasitizing the inshore lizardfish, Synodus foetens (Linnaeus, 1766) on the continental shelf off central Veracruz, Mexico

“…data). The coastal fish community in the area is composed of 158 species (Pélaez-Rodríguez et al, 2005), of which only, besides this new record, the bluntnose jack, Hemycaranx amblyrhynchus (Cuvier, 1833) is known to be parasitized by isopods, i.e., by Cymothoa caraibica Bovallius, 1885.…”

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“…Several papers have been written in connection with the Alvarado Lagoon and the various biological components that inhabit it; regarding fish, we can mention the papers of Reséndez (1973); Flores and Méndez, (1982); Franco, Peraza and Chávez, (1992); Franco, Chávez, Peláez and Bedia (1996); Barrera, Franco, Zamudio and Martínez (2002); Chávez, Peterson, Brown, Morales and Franco (2005); Peláez, Franco, Matamoros, Chávez, and Brown-Peterson (2005); Salgado, Aguilar, Cabañas, Soto & Mendoza (2005); Zarza, Berruecos-Villalobos, Vásquez- Peláez and Álvarez-Torre (2006); Abarca-Arenas, Franco-López, Peterson, Brown-Peterson and Valero-Pacheco (2007);Carbajal et al, (2009); Abarca, Cruz, Franco, González and Silva (2012); Franco et al, (2014); Franco et al, (2017), who address several aspects of this taxon, including early development stages, life and reproductive cycles, as well as food webs and community interactions. D. maculatus is mentioned in some of these papers, both as a community element or as part of food webs; however, only the paper of Montoya, Osorio, Chavez and Franco (2004), addresses issues on the helminth parasitism that usually affects this species and which is acknowledged as a vector for the transmission of the parasite to other species of the lagoon system.…”