Coexistence of Lutjanus peru and Lutjanus guttatus (Pisces : Lutjanidae) in the coast of Guerrero, Mexico: association with the temporal variation of recruitment

Abstract

Monthly volumes of capture of Lutjanus peru and Lutjanus guttatus from the coast of Guerrero, Mexico, were analyzed considering eight annual cycles. Time-series, auto correlation, and cross-correlation analysis showed that monthly abundance of populations display unsystematic variations. The FiSAT software was used to obtain the recruitment patterns of both species, using length-frequency data. Our results support the hypothesis that temporal phase-shifts in reproductive events, hence recruitment, explain the coexistence of these species. The outcome of this mechanism is a temporal succession of specific recruit abundance off the coasts of Guerrero, Mexico. The uncoupling of the recruitment events between these species, induces a separation of recruits: therefore, the intake of a particular set of preys could take place at different times.