Predation rate of Panulirus argus (Decapoda: Palinuridae) on gastropod mollusks in two fishing areas of southern Cuba

meso-predator Panulirus argus has an impact on the populations of benthic mollusks that constitute its food. In the present study, composition of P. argus diet and predation pressure exerted on gastropods population from Santa Cruz del Sur (SCrso) and Gulf of Batabano (GB) fishing regions, Cuba, were determined. Gastropod density and diversity were quantified by trawling, which based on the abundance of lobsters reported for each region, served to estimate the impact of predation on gastropod community. 250 lobsters were captured: 62 from SCrso in October 2012, 136 from GB in February 2014 and 52 from GB in July 2018. The void was similar in SCrso (38.7%) and GB (38.0%). Thirteen trophic categories were recorded, the most frequent: operculums (48.8%), crustacean remains (48.0%), shell remains (47.2%) and plant remains (35.0%), showing that the diet is mainly composed of mollusks and crustaceans. The frequency of occurrence of plant remains suggests non -accidental consumption. Seventeen species of mollusks were identified, being Tegula fasciata, Phrontis antillarum, Aliger gigas, Turbo castanea and Chione cancellata the most frequent. The most predated species were T. fasciata (3.36), P. antillarum (0.54) and A. gigas (0.45). Predation pressure was 0.92 gastropods lobster-1 in SCrso and 3.31 gastropods lobster-1 in GB, which according to the respective densities of lobsters (3,546 lobsters km-2 and 3,837 lobsters km-2) and gastropods (3.76 ind. m-2 and 1.45 ind. m-2), allowed estimating that lobsters consume 0.087% of the gastropod community in SCrso and 0.887% in GB. Evidence of cannibalism was also found.