Examining The Lionfish Invasion
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Examining The Lionfish Invasion
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Author : Dominique Lazarre
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2016
Examining The Lionfish Invasion written by Dominique Lazarre and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016 with categories.
The global nature of travel and trade has increased the potential for the spread of invasive species around the world. These invasive alien species (IAS) have the potential to negatively influence the ecosystems they invade by preying upon, infecting or out-competing native species or altering their new habitat. The invasion of two Indo-Pacific lionfishes, Pterois volitans and Pterois miles, is having far reaching impacts on reef fish biodiversity and abundance throughout the Tropical Western Atlantic Ocean. The body of lionfish research from their native range is composed of studies related to their biology or behaviors in aquarium settings. These deficiencies have left researchers with knowledge gaps related to why lionfish spread so rapidly and the best methods to control lionfish abundance in the diverse habitats they occupy. Analysis of juvenile otolith birthdates verified that lionfish successfully spawn throughout the calendar year. This information was coupled with known early life history traits of lionfish to simulate dispersal of "lionfish" particles in the Caribbean. This dispersal identified Florida, the Bahamas and Cuba as major sinks for lionfish larvae throughout the region, and Jamaica as an important link between the Greater Antilles and southern portions of the Caribbean. Additionally, lionfish reproductive strategy facilitated their spread across a known geographic barrier between Florida and the Caribbean that creates a genetic break between native reef fishes. Highly connected dispersal pathways, continuous spawning of lionfish, and the lack of natural predators help to make lionfish more successful in the invaded range, and prompt the development of management plans to counteract this growth. Lionfish are present in a host of diverse habitats, but monitoring and culling is restricted to shallow, diveable waters. A two-year observer study in the deeper water spiny lobster trap fishery (>20 m) was used to investigate the distribution of lionfish in an understudied environment. Lionfish have become a major component of the fishery's bycatch, and the trap fishery provides an additional mechanism for lionfish removals. This method can eliminate a larger number of individuals than the traditional methods used in shallower water culling derbies. The lack of lionfish caught in the shallower fishing areas precipitated a series of tank experiments to investigate the preference for benthic structures found in the different depth regimes within the fishery. Lionfish spent more time associating with coralline habitat structures than any other, but they were displaced from this habitat in the presence of lobster. The exclusionary behaviors of lobster indicate their potential to alter lionfish habitat choices. These insights provide marine managers with information to understand invasive species ecological dynamics, to better manage for future invasions, and to mitigate the impacts of lionfishes.
Lionfish Invasion In Nearshore Waters Of The Bahamas
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Author : Nicola Simone Smith
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2010
Lionfish Invasion In Nearshore Waters Of The Bahamas written by Nicola Simone Smith and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2010 with categories.
Assessing The Ecological And Socioeconomic Impacts Of The Lionfish Invasion In The Wider Caribbean Region
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Author : Luis Malpica Cruz
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2017
Assessing The Ecological And Socioeconomic Impacts Of The Lionfish Invasion In The Wider Caribbean Region written by Luis Malpica Cruz and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2017 with categories.
Environmental changes of different scales and magnitudes are occurring at an alarming pace throughout the globe. As natural and human systems resist, cope, and/or adapt to global changes, new equilibrium states might be reached. To understand these changes we need to obtain information relevant to both biological and human systems and the interactions within and between them. My thesis combines approaches from ecology and socioeconomic to investigate the impacts of a specific stressor - invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish - on coral reef ecosystems. First, I explore how this invasion has changed trophic interactions and food web dynamics of coral reef fish communities. Second, I investigate how the impacts of an invasive predator can scale up to affect and change socioeconomic systems associated with natural systems. I found that the trophic niche of lionfish has changed over time, concomitant with large changes in native fish prey abundance. I also found that lionfish predation is having impacts on energy flow through coral reef fish communities even in the absence of marked changes in fish community structure. Combined, these changes could affect ecosystem function. I also present some of the first evidence of economic impacts of this invasion in regions that depend on reef-related tourism. I show that reductions in lionfish abundance through management actions should be beneficial to the reef tourism industry, and that tourist user fees are an acceptable means of financing such actions. As new management strategies are explored, the popularity of lionfish tournaments (derbies) has increased, premised on the idea that involving the public could help to tackle this invasion. However, my results show that such events are most likely to be successful only when lionfish densities are high and where there is a large pool of participants. This dissertation sheds light on the need to study and manage the impacts of biotic invasions from a multidisciplinary and integrated perspective since impacts will rarely be limited to the natural system affected by invaders.
The Lionfish Invasion Of The Bahamas
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Author : Nicola S. Smith
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2007
The Lionfish Invasion Of The Bahamas written by Nicola S. Smith and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2007 with Pterois volitans categories.
Evaluating The Abundance And Size Distribution Of Indo Pacific Lionfish Pterois In The Us Virgin Islands
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Author : Nikita R. Thompson
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2018
Evaluating The Abundance And Size Distribution Of Indo Pacific Lionfish Pterois In The Us Virgin Islands written by Nikita R. Thompson and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2018 with Pterois categories.
The purpose of this study was to determine the spread and magnitude of the lionfish invasion in the USVI across varying habitats and depths, whether prey availability and/or habitat structure are associated with lionfish presence, and whether lionfish may be impacting benthic and fish communities.
Predation By Invasive Indo Pacific Lionfish On Atlantic Coral Reef Fishes
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Author : Stephanie Jane Lee Green
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2012
Predation By Invasive Indo Pacific Lionfish On Atlantic Coral Reef Fishes written by Stephanie Jane Lee Green and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2012 with Coral reef fishes categories.
Invasive species cause significant ecological impacts, ranging from the homogenization and reduction of biodiversity to changes in ecosystem function. In marine systems, where predation is a key force shaping demographic processes, predatory invaders are predicted to have particularly severe effects. My thesis focuses on the patterns, processes and consequences of the recent invasion of Western Atlantic coral reef habitats by predatory Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles). I first investigate the rate and timing of predation by lionfish through in situ observations on invaded Bahamian coral reefs, and find that lionfish primarily consume prey during crepuscular periods and at higher rates than reported from their native range. Next, I examine trends in the biomass of 42 native fishes found in the stomach contents of lionfish on invaded reefs, and find declines of ~65% in just two years likely owing to lionfish predation. Through field observations of predation and stomach contents analyses, I identify morphological and behavioural drivers of prey selection by lionfish: small size, shallow body depth, demersal habit, and not cleaning all contribute vulnerability to predation. Using these insights, I model the effect of lionfish predation on the biomass of their fish prey, taken as the difference between rates of lionfish prey consumption and prey fish production on invaded reefs, the latter estimated from community size-spectra data using metabolic scaling relationships. My model accurately predicts the magnitude of prey depletion observed on Bahamian reefs, and reveals that lionfish are likely to continue depleting native fishes unless culled by 30-95%. Finally, I conduct a removal experiment on 24 natural patch reefs over 18 months to test the model's predictions, and find that the lionfish density reductions predicted by the model are sufficient arrest native fish biomass declines. My thesis reveals the important role that invasive lionfish now play in structuring Atlantic coral reef fish communities, and quantifies the threat of invasion for the persistence of fish diversity in the region. However, by demonstrating that lionfish removal can limit the severe ecological impacts of this invasive predator, my research offers strategic targets and much needed hope for local marine management action.
Invasive Pacific Lionfish Alters Native Community Interactions On Atlantic Coral Reefs
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Author : Tye L. Kindinger
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2016
Invasive Pacific Lionfish Alters Native Community Interactions On Atlantic Coral Reefs written by Tye L. Kindinger and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016 with Competition (Biology) categories.
Biological invasions have been identified as one of the prominent drivers of global environmental change. In particular, invasive predators typically have substantial negative effects on populations of native prey, even driving species to extinction in extreme cases. However, beyond direct predatory effects, little is understood regarding the specific mechanisms by which invasive predators influence native communities and ecosystems. Therefore, the objective of this dissertation was to investigate whether and how an invasive predator, the Pacific red lionfish (Pterois volitans), alters native community interactions on Atlantic coral reefs. The lionfish invasion is unprecedented for a marine fish in the extent of rapid geographical spread, successful establishment across numerous habitats, and strong predatory effects on native species. By conducting behavioral observations and manipulative experiments in both the laboratory and field settings, I tested for a variety of direct and indirect mechanisms by which invasive lionfish potentially influence native fish communities and coral-reef ecosystems. I first conducted a model-bottle experiment in The Bahamas and Cayman Islands (Chapter 2) to test for aggression of a native territorial damselfish, Stegastes planifrons, toward invasive lionfish. Such territoriality could provide a possible source of biotic resistance that may provide behavioral refugia for native coral-reef fish recruits from lionfish predation. However, the behavior of this damselfish in response to invasive lionfish in a clear plastic bottle did not differ from the minimal response exhibited toward the empty bottle control. Therefore, the territories of this damselfish are unlikely to provide such biotic resistance to the invasion. To investigate whether invasive lionfish alter competition between native prey fishes, I then performed a manipulative field experiment in The Bahamas whereby I simultaneously tested for the effects of both competition and lionfish predation on two congeneric coral-reef fishes, the fairy and blackcap basslets (Gramma loreto and G. melacara, respectively). In the absence of invasive lionfish, competition within local populations of basslets under reef ledges had symmetrical effects on the juveniles of both species (Chapter 3). Interference between species drove juvenile basslets further back under ledges where feeding and growth rates of individuals were reduced. Within reefs with the invasive predator present (Chapter 4), lionfish reduced the density of juvenile fairy basslet, thereby reducing the effects of competition on juvenile blackcap basslet, and tipping the balance of competition between juveniles of these species from symmetrical to asymmetrical effects. Differential predation of invasive lionfish may be explained by a preference for fairy basslet, as demonstrated by a laboratory experiment (Chapter 5). Lastly, I examined possible mechanisms underlying a potential invasive lionfish-herbivorous fishes-macroalgae trophic cascade on large reefs in The Bahamas (Chapter 6). During a two-year field experiment, lionfish caused a decline in the density of small herbivorous fishes on reefs, and behavioral observations revealed that the presence of lionfish reduced grazing by both small and large fishes, which resulted in 66-80% less algae removed from reef substrata. Therefore, invasive lionfish have both consumptive and non-consumptive effects on the important ecosystem function of native herbivorous fishes: reducing the abundance of benthic algae that could otherwise displace corals. In sum, this dissertation indicates that throughout native coral reefs, invasive lionfish (1) are not attacked by native territorial damselfish that could otherwise provide local refugia for native recruit fishes; (2) alter the outcome of interspecific competition between native basslets via differential predation that tips the balance of competition from symmetrical to asymmetrical; and (3) have both consumptive and non-consumptive effects on native herbivorous fishes, which reduces grazing and indirectly benefits benthic macroalgae to the possible detriment of corals. This research broadens our mechanistic understanding of predation in the context of invasive species, which further informs predictions relevant for management and conservation initiatives.
What Makes Lionfish Successful Invaders
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Author :
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2024
What Makes Lionfish Successful Invaders written by and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2024 with categories.
The Biology And Ecology Of The Invasive Indo Pacific Lionfish
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Author :
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2004
The Biology And Ecology Of The Invasive Indo Pacific Lionfish written by and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2004 with categories.
The Indo-Pacific lionfishes, Pterois miles and P. volitans, are now established along the Southeast U.S. and Caribbean and are expected to expand into the Gulf of Mexico and Central and South America. Prior to this invasion little was known regarding the biology and ecology of these lionfishes. I provide a synopsis of chronology, taxonomy, local abundance, reproduction, early life history and dispersal, venomology, feeding ecology, parasitology, potential impacts, and possible control and management strategies for the lionfish invasion. This information was collected by review of the literature and by direct field and experimental study. I confirm the existence of an unusual supraocular tentacle phenotype and suggest that the high prevalence of this phenotype in the Atlantic is not the result of selection, but likely ontogenetic change. To describe the trophic impacts of lionfish, I report a comprehensive assessment of diet that describes lionfish as a generalist piscivore that preys on over 40 species of teleost comprising more than 20 families. Next, I use the histology of gonads to describe both oogenesis and reproductive dynamics of lionfish. Lionfish mature relatively early and reproduce several times per month throughout the entire calendar year off North Carolina and the Bahamas. To investigate predation, an important component of natural mortality, I assessed the vulnerability of juvenile lionfish to predation by native serranids. Juvenile lionfish are not readily consumed by serranids, even after extreme periods of starvation. Last, I used a stage-based, matrix population model to estimate the scale of control that would be needed to reduce an invading population of lionfish. Together, this research provides the first comprehensive assessment on lionfish biology and ecology and explains a number of life history and ecological interactions that have facilitated the unprecedented and rapid establishment of this invasive finfish. Future research is needed to u.
Effects Of The Invasive Pacific Red Lionfish Pterois Volitans On Native Atlantic Coral Reef Fish Communities
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Author : Mark A. Albins
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2011
Effects Of The Invasive Pacific Red Lionfish Pterois Volitans On Native Atlantic Coral Reef Fish Communities written by Mark A. Albins and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2011 with Coral reef fishes categories.
Predatory lionfishes (Pterois volitans and P. miles) were introduced to Florida waters during the mid to late 1980s, and eventually established self-sustaining breeding populations in the tropical western Atlantic. These invasive species are now widespread along the southeastern seaboard of the United States, across the Caribbean Sea, and in the Gulf of Mexico. In these regions, lionfish reach larger maximum sizes and higher abundances than they do in their native Pacific, suggesting that they have undergone ecological release. Invaded marine communities have thus far provided little if any biotic resistance. Lionfish are generalist predators with high consumption rates, inhabit a broad range of habitats, are defended from predation by venomous spines, and are capable of long-range larval dispersal. It is possible that lionfish have direct effects on native communities, through consumption of native fishes and competition with native predators, as well as indirect effects, such as overconsumption of herbivorous fishes that prevent seaweeds from outcompeting reef-building corals. There is also serious concern that invasive lionfish could act additively, or even synergistically, with existing stressors of coral-reef systems, such as overfishing and ocean warming, resulting in substantial negative consequences for native ecosystems and economically valuable fisheries. The primary goal of this dissertation was to conduct a set of controlled, replicated field experiments to rigorously examine and measure the effects of lionfish on native reef-fish communities across a range of spatial and temporal scales. In the first experiment (Chapter 2), the net recruitment of native fishes to twenty small patch reefs was compared in the presence (n = 10) and absence (n = 10) of lionfish. This study demonstrated that lionfish reduced net recruitment, or change in abundance of small native fishes, by an average (± SEM) of 78.9 ± 32.2 % over 5 weeks, affecting 23 of 38 species recruiting to reefs in both treatments. In a second experiment (Chapter 4), I examined the effects of lionfish on patch-reef communities of small native fishes relative to, and in combination with, those of a similarly sized native predator, the coney grouper (Cephalopholis fulva). Four different predator treatments were established by transplanting predators (n = 5 reefs each). Treatments included a single small invasive lionfish, a single small native grouper, a grouper and a lionfish together, and predator-free controls. Compared to controls, invasive lionfish caused reductions (mean ± SEM) in abundance (93.7 ± 17.8 %) and species richness (4.6 ± 1.6 species) of small native fishes. The negative effect of lionfish on abundance was 2.6 ± 0.5 times stronger than that of the native grouper. The greatest negative effects on abundance, species richness, evenness, and diversity of native fishes occurred when both lionfish and native grouper were present. Additionally, lionfish grew more than six times faster in both length and mass than did native grouper. A third experiment (Chapter 6) assessed the effects of lionfish on native reef-fish communities at spatial and temporal scales directly relevant to management and conservation efforts. Subsequent to baseline surveys, high- and low-density lionfish treatments were established on 10 large (1400 to 4000 m2) isolated coral reefs. After initiation of treatments, quarterly surveys of the native reef-fish communities were conducted for approximately 14 months. Lionfish caused significant reductions (mean ± SEM) in density (up to 3.22 ± 0.95 fish m−2), biomass (3.26 ± 1.10 g m−2), and species richness (4.92 ± 2.09 species) of small (