Movimiento entre hábitats de la barracuda Sphyraena barracuda, determinado por aproximaciones tróficas en el Caribe occidental

Abstract

Inter-habitat movements related to trophic changes and growth of the Great Barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda (Edwards, 1771), were evidenced by stomach content and stable isotope analyses in the Chetumal/Corozal Bay, the Zaragoza Canal, and the adjacent western Caribbean coast, southern Quintana Roo (Mexico) and northern Belize. One hundred sixteen specimens, divided into three size classes, were captured and measured; only 42% of the stomachs contained food, and most empty stomachs were found during the afternoon. Among the prey were fish from families Gerreidae, Cyprinodontidae, and Atherinidae. In addition, muscle tissue was sampled from the barracudas and other organisms from diverse trophic levels in the study area —in the bay, at the sea, and in the Zaragoza Canal, which communicates bay and sea— for isotopic analyses (δ13C and δ15N). We identified three different subpopulations of S. barracuda separated spatially and temporally. We confirmed S. barracuda as a top predator in all environments, and evidenced inter-habitat movement related to fish growth.