The fish assemblages of Alvarado Lagoon Estuary (a complex of coastal lagoons in the state of Veracruz, Mexico) have been surveyed intermittently by different researchers over the last 40 years. Assessing longterm trends in fish assemblage composition for this ecosystem is problematic due to differences in sampling efforts among the survey periods (1966–1968, 1987–1988, 1989, 1989–1990, 1990–1991 and 2000–2001) and by the inherent ecological variability of estuaries. To overcome these data limitations and better understand fish assemblage change over time, we used robust, simulation-based analyses to compare collections from the different surveys. The 107 fish species collected from the Alvarado Lagoon Estuary in these surveys represent 4 ecological guilds: marine stenohaline, marine euryhaline, estuarine, and freshwater fishes. The occurrence frequency of fish species representing each guild did not change significantly among the survey periods: the chi-square deviation statistic ( 2 = 8.53) was not significantly larger than the average value for 1000 simulated matrices ( 2 = 138.64; P = 1.00). A non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) based on Bray-Curtis similarities of fish species presenceabsence data showed that the 1966–1968 survey period was the least similar to the other survey periods. For the 1966–1968 survey, the range of Bray-Curtis inter-survey similarities was 40.4–58.6 (n = 5). By comparison, the remaining range of inter-survey similarities was 61.5–81.7 (n = 10). Average taxonomic distinctness (Δ+) and variation in taxonomic distinctness (Λ+), two sample size-independent measures of diversity, were calculated for all survey periods. Although Δ+ and Λ+ for all survey periods were within the simulated 95% confidence limits for expected values, these values for the 2000–2001 survey period were less than the average Δ+ and Λ+ values for the entire species pool. This suggests that the fish assemblage collected during the latest survey reflects a loss of both widespread higher taxa (reduced Δ+) and that the higher taxa lost are those with only a few representative species in the assemblage (reduced Λ+). These assemblage data show that fish assemblages of Alvarado Lagoon Estuary have not experienced significant changes over 40 years, but differences among the earliest (1966–1968), the latest (2000–2001), and the remaining survey periods indicate a recent decline in diversity.

La producción mundial de plástico ha ido en incremento; se estima que para 2050 supere los 1000 millones de toneladas, lo que implica un impacto en los ecosistemas marinos. Anchoa hepsetus es una especie con importancia económica y ecológica para el golfo de México. Es una especie nerítica,consumidora de zooplancton y costera, por lo que es propensa a ingerir microplásticos suspendidos en la columna de agua que son generados por actividades antropogénicas. Se analizó la presencia de microplásticos en el contenido estomacal de A. hepsetus obtenida de la pesca ribereña en marzo de 2020 en el municipio de Alvarado, Veracruz. En laboratorio se identificó sexo, talla y peso de cada organismo, se analizó el contenido estomacal, se obtuvieron los microplásticos de manera directa y caracterizaron por sus propiedades físicas de forma, color y tamaño y fue determinada la frecuencia de ocurrencia. Se analizaron un total de 126 peces, la talla y peso promedio fue 10.5 ± 2.5 cm y 8.0 ± 4.7 g, respectivamente; en 18% de los organismos se encontraron microplásticos; las fibras fueron el único tipo encontrado de microplásticos con una longitud promedio de 1.17 ± 1.06 mm, predominando el color azul con 47%. La contaminación de ambientes marinos por plásticos está siendo una línea nueva y de importancia para la investigación debido a que es cada día más grande y se necesita llevar a cabo la toma de decisiones y acciones para la protección de los mares y debe ser una prioridad para las autoridades.

In nine Caranx hippos specimens, Cd, Pb, Cr, and Cu concentration was determined in tissues (muscle and gonad) and parasites (nematodes and cestodes). The fish were caught from February to June 2019 in Las Barrancas, Alvarado Beach, Veracruz, Mexico. Heavy metals were quantified using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results of the average concentration of pollutants were, Cr = 0.18 ± 0.05 mg kg-1 dry weight (dw); Cu = 0.2 ± 0.1 mg kg-1 dw; Pb = 0.022 ± 0.01 mg kg-1 dw; Cd = <0.003 mg kg-1 dw. Among the tissues, Cu was the one with the highest concentration in nematodes vs. cestodes (2.2:1); vs. gonad (2.5:1); vs. muscle (2.7:1). Due to the concentration registered in Caranginema americanum nematodes could be identified as a bioindicator species for Cu pollutant. The values generally do not exceed the limits established in the Mexican National Standard (NOM-242-SSA1-2009) for Cd and Pb (0.5 mg kg-1). Records of heavy metals do not represent a health risk from consuming C. hippos.

The objective was to analyse the relative growth and size structure of Achelous spinicarpus associated with trawling in Veracruz. The organisms came from shrimp trawls carried out in July 2013. There were 45 trawls organized in two depth intervals (B: 22 to 46 m and C: >46 m) and 14 fishing quadrants. Abundance, mean and standard deviation, by sex and depth interval, and sex ratio were determined. An ANOVA was applied to compare CW means, depth intervals and fishing quadrants. The CW-weight relationship was obtained, and growth type was also determined. Length-frequency analyses were carried out. A total of 2377 crabs were collected, 1164 males and 713 females. The overall average CW was 3.65 ± 0.7677 cm, the minimum value was 1.50 cm, and the maximum was 6.00 cm. For males, the average CW was 3.65 ± 0.8242 cm, with1.50 cm minimum value and 6.00 cm maximum value. The average CW of females was 3.64 ± 0.6164 cm, with 1.60 cm minimum value and 5.90 cm maximum value. There were no statistically significant differences in CW between males and females. However, there were significant differences between depth intervals (B and C) for the total and sex CW data. The sex ratio was 2.94:1 and 2.05:1 for depth intervals B and C, and 2.33:1 for the total data set. Growth type was allometric negative for both sexes and overall, with significant differences in slopes between sexes. There was a unimodal pattern for the two fishing depth intervals and for each sex; crabs were between 2.40 and 4.00 cm (77.64%) and between 2.56 and 5.12 (91.12%) for the B and C intervals, respectively. In males, 88.46% were between 2.40 and 4.80 cm, and 90.46% of females were between 2.72 and 4.64 cm. Achelous spinicarpus is an essential species in the structure of the brachyuran assemblage and in benthic communities, as well as a food resource for various species of demersal fish. Thus, the present study provides information on the population subjected to the impact of fishing activity in the area, allowing comparisons between different populations in the species’ area of distribution.

<!--Galleys --> <!--Full Text:--> PDF <!--END GALLEYS---> Abstract The objective of this study was to analyze the brachyuran crab assemblages associated with shrimp fishing on the central-southern coast of Veracruz. Information was collected using 46 trawls organized within nine fishing quadrants. The total catch shrimp, bycatch, and discard were recorded and standardized (CPUE kg h^-1). Value index by species, species richness, diversity using Shannon and Weaver index, and equitability were determined. A total of 3055 individuals were collected, which corresponded to nine families, 13 genera, and 14 species. Achelous spinicarpus species were identified at the greatest relative abundance (77.74%). Four new species records for the zone: Hepatus pudibundus, Iliacantha liodactylus, Leiolambrus punctatissimus, and Platylambrus granulatus. Species richness varied according to fishing quadrant and depth interval assessed. The highest value of species richness was eight, and observed Margalef species richness index values ranged from 0 to 2.23. The diversity values ranged from 0 to 2.41 bits ind^-1; this may indicate that a few species share the greatest impact of trawling. The presence of lagoon systems was determined to define a portion of the composition of the assemblage. Understanding assemblage structure is important to improve knowledge on the impact of shrimp trawling activity on the ecosystem.

This contribution reports information about the feeding and growth of the lionfish Pterois volitans in the southern area of the Veracruz Reef System National Park (PNSAV, by its Spanish acronym); 230 specimens were collected by free diving and harpoons between 2019 and 2023 with standard length interval of 65 to 335 mm and 6 to 1,100 g in weight; this fish species follows a positive allometric growth through the weight-length ratio (b = 3.25), three condition factor models were estimated that showed that the organisms occupying this area are in good body condition, in addition, individual condition (kc) was correlated with weight increases (r = 0.46, P < 0.05); in this sample, only organisms in early stages of gonadic maturity were found. The lionfish diet in the study consisted of fish and crustaceans. Among the fish prey, 7 families and 14 species were identified. Haemulon aurolineatum, Azurina multilineata, and Diplectrum bivittatum contributed the most to the diet of P. volitans. Starksia hassi was also recorded, marking a first record for the PNSAV. The consumption of crustaceans was represented by Xiphopenaeus kroyeri, and other crustaceans belong to the families Sycionidae and Diogenidae. These results indicate that lionfish is a generalist predator that consumes fish and crustaceans in this area, with a good individual body condition that is reflected in the type of growth of the organisms. The absence of organisms in reproductive stages opens the possibility that P. volitans move to other sites on the reef to reproduce.