Feeding habits of caprellids (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from the west coast of Mexico. Do they feed on their hosting substrates?

Abstract

We studied the gut contents of the dominant species of the West coast of Mexico to explore if caprellids can use their host substrates (mainly hydroids and gorgonians) as food resource or just as a place to cling on. Two hundred and forty two specimens of four species of caprellids were examined: Aciconula acanthosoma Chess, 1989, Caprella equilibra Say, 1818, Caprella aff. penantis Leach, 1814 and Paracaprella sp. Detritus was the dominant component in all the species, although hydroids were also abundant in C. equilibra and Paracaprella sp. Crustaceans were present in the digestive tracts of the four species, being an important component in Aciconula acanthosoma and Paracaprella sp. Caprella aff. penantis and C. equilibra collected from gorgonians did not show any trace of gorgonian sclerites in their guts. Therefore, the present study reveals that caprellids from the Pacific coast of Mexico are able to feed on hydroids but not on gorgonians. Furthermore, Paracaprella sp. associated to hydroids also showed a significant amount of harpacticoid copepods in the digestive tract, supporting the idea of cleptocomensalism. Further experimental studies are needed to explore the complex relationships between hydroids and caprellids