Seasonal reproduction and feeding ecology of giant isopods Bathynomus giganteus from the continental slope of the Yucatan peninsula

The reproduction and feeding habits of giant isopods Bathynomus giganteus [range in body length (BL): 43-363 mm] from the continental slope of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, were studied from samples collected at depths of 359-1050 m during three research cruises conducted in winter, spring, and summer of different years. Samples taken in winter and spring yielded a large proportion of mancas and juveniles, as well as high percentages of adult females with functional oostegites and males with appendices masculinae, suggesting a peak in reproductive activity during these seasons. In contrast, the virtual absence in the summer samples of (a) mancas and small juveniles, (b) females with functional oostegites, and (c) small adult males (210-290 mm BL) with appendices masculinae, suggests a low reproductive activity of B. giganteus during summer. Stomach contents analyses were conducted on five life phases (mancas, small juveniles, large juveniles, adult females and adult males) in winter and summer. Mancas and juveniles had fuller stomachs than adults during winter, and all isopods had emptier stomachs during summer than during winter. The diet of B. giganteus was broad, but the most important food categories in all life phases were fish and squid remains, underlining the main scavenging habits of B. giganteus. However, the remaining food categories show that this species is a facultative rather than a strict scavenger and suggest some ontogenetic dietary shifts. These results were further supported by diet (Horn's) overlap indices. In the winter, high diet overlap occurred between all life phases. In the summer, adult males had a low diet overlap with adult females and large juveniles. Adult males also had a low diet overlap between summer and winter. Results from this and other studies suggest that the main reproductive activity of B. giganteus in the Yucatan slope occurs during winter and spring, when the food supply on the upper-slope is highest, particularly for the younger individuals. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.