Reproductive patterns in demersal crustaceans from the upper boundary of the OMZ off north-central Chile

Pleuroncodes monodon (Crustacea: Munididae) supports one of the main trawling fisheries over the continental shelf off Chile between 25°S and 37°S within the upper boundary of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). Although the reproductive cycle of P. monodon has been described, the relationship between this key biological process and the variability of the OMZ has not been comprehensibly addressed neither for P. monodon nor for other OMZ resident species. In this study a set of 14 quasi-monthly oceanographic cruises carried out between June 2010 and November 2011 were conducted over the continental shelf off Coquimbo (30°S) to investigate the temporal variability of: i) dissolved oxygen concentration, temperature and chlorophyll-a at relevant depths ii) the presence and proportion of occurrence of P. monodon ovigerous females and juveniles from benthic trawls; iii) the presence of different stage larvae in the plankton, and iv) similar biological data for other species from the OMZ and shallower depths crustaceans. During summer months oxygen levels and bottom temperature were lower than in winter, while chlorophyll-a concentration was maximum in summer coinciding with an active (but not maximum) upwelling season. P. monodon maximum egg carrying occurred in winter during periods of increased oxygenation. Egg carrying females were never found at depths where oxygen concentration was below 0.5 ml L−1, while over 50% of the autumn and spring cohorts of juveniles occurred at oxygen concentrations below that level. The depth range occupied by ovigerous females was more restricted than the rest of the population and their depth of occurrence followed the variability of the upper OMZ. The larval release period of OMZ resident species extends over late winter and spring, and its main peak precedes that of coastal species (spring) and the spring-summer chlorophyll-a maximum. We propose that for OMZ resident species, brood carrying during warmer and more oxygenated conditions in the adult benthic environment, might favor embryonic development, so OMZ seasonal variability could be acting as a selective pressure to synchronize reproductive periods.