A. Razguzman et al., ISOTOPIC CHARACTERIZATION (DELTA-C-13) OF THE CRAB FAUNA IN THE ALVARADO LAGOON SYSTEM, VERACRUZ, MEXICO, Revista de biologia tropical, 41(1), 1993, pp. 73-79
Isotopic (deltaC-13) analyses of estuarine fauna give an indication of
the diet of organisms and the flow of carbon throughout trophic chain
s, and allow the establishment of relationships between community comp
onents. Values of - 17.4 to -25.2 parts per thousand were obtained for
penaeid and caridean shrimps and for swimming crabs collected in the
lagoon system of Alvarado, Mexico. These values establish an isotopic
gradient from the southeast of the system (-25.0 to -26.9 parts per th
ousand) to Laguna Camaronera in the northwest (-18.3 to -19.4 parts pe
r thousand) which, in the case of Penaeus setiferus, P. aztecus and Ca
llinectes sapidus, points to a migration of organisms within the syste
m. These three species also represent the highest trophic level in the
macrocrustacean communities throughout the system.