Dosidicus gigas is a monocyclic ommastrephid squid and is an important component of its ecosystems in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The species shows variable reproductive characteristics; among these are 3 spatially separated groups of size-at-maturity. Biological data from the industrial fisheries of the Peruvian Humboldt Current System (HCS) from 1991 to 2007 were analyzed. Changes in reproduction patterns allow jumbo squid to cope with productivity changes in their environment. In the HCS, low productivity is related to warm water masses prevailing during warm periods, and high productivity is found for cool water masses during cool periods. Three general features related to reproduction enabling the squid to adjust to changes have been identified: (1) variable size-at-maturity, (2) temporal decoupling of male and female formation of reproductive tissue in order to temporally distribute the required energy and (3) changing sex-ratios. Smaller sizes-at-maturity are found in warm water masses, specimens maturing at larger sizes in cool water masses. Females mature at the end of their life which leads to a j-shaped increase in maturity when plotted against mantle length, while males mature at a medium size which results in an s-shaped form of maturation. The 3 groups of size-at-maturity proposed in earlier studies may not actually exist, and may only be an observational artifact from a continuous change in size-at-maturity between 2 extremes. KEY WORDS: Dosidicus gigas · Cephalopoda · Reproductive patterns · Interannual variability · Size-at-maturity · Energy availability · Peru
Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 400: [127][128][129][130][131][132][133][134][135][136][137][138][139][140][141] 2010 tive biology (Markaida 2006b, Argüelles et al. 2008, as well as population structure in general (Bazzino et al. 2007). Analyzing size-at-maturity of females of the Peruvian exclusive economic zone only, a transition period lasting from 1999 to 2000 was identified that separates a period of small mature females in the 1990s from the period of large mature females in the 2000s (Argüelles et al. 2008). At the same time, landings of jumbo squid have greatly increased (IMARPE unpubl. data: see also FAO ftp://ftp.fao.org/FI/STAT/summary/ a1e.pdf). Temporal variation in size-at-maturity has also been observed in the northern hemisphere, although in a different form; here jumbo squid generally matured at large sizes (at least since the late 1980s), and only during the El Niño event of 1997/1998 did size-at-maturity drop to sizes similar to those found in Peru during the early 1990s (Markaida 2006b, Bazzino et al. 2007). However, small specimens were also reported from Mexican waters in the 1970s and the 1980s ( Table 1).The northern Humboldt current system (HCS) shows high variability in abiotic and associated biotic conditions. Water temperature, salinity and ecosystem productivity are coupled to water masses that change their extent according to global...