[Coral-List] Lion fish question

John Bruno jbruno at unc.edu
Wed Apr 17 15:02:26 EDT 2013


Dear Steve,

Evidence for effects of lionfish on native species can be found here:  

Albins, M. A. 2012. Effects of invasive Pacific red lionfish Pterois volitans versus a native predator on Bahamian coral-reef fish communities. Biological Invasions 15:29–43.  
Albins, M. A., and M. A. Hixon. 2008. Invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitans reduce recruitment of Atlantic coral-reef fishes. Marine Ecology-Progress Series 367:233–238.
Lesser, M. P., and M. Slattery. 2011. Phase shift to algal dominated communities at mesophotic depths associated with lionfish (Pterois volitans) invasion on a Bahamian coral reef. Biological Invasions 13:1855–1868.
Green, S. J., J. L. Akins, A. Maljković, and I. M. Côté. 2012. Invasive lionfish drive Atlantic coral reef fish declines. PLoS One 7:e32596.

No, native predators are not learning to eat (living) lionfish.  

Lionfish are far less abundant on Pacific reefs and native prey there recognize them as a threat and act accordingly.  Not so much in the Caribbean. Could Caribbean prey learn to avoid lionfish?  Sure.  Will they?  Who knows.   

Green, S. J., and I. M. Cote. 2009. Record densities of Indo-Pacific lionfish on Bahamian coral reefs. Coral Reefs 28:107–107

Lionfish grow much faster than native Caribbean predators and seems to be having much larger effects per capita, so it isn't as if they will just replace our depleted native Caribbean fishes like smaller groupers (as I once thought), e.g.;

Albins, M. A. 2012. Effects of invasive Pacific red lionfish Pterois volitans versus a native predator on Bahamian coral-reef fish communities. Biological Invasions 15:29–43.

Lionfish clearly didn't cause coral loss across the Caribbean, and 90% of the fish crisis is due to coral (habitat loss) and fishing.  But lionfish is in my view an additional significant problem.   

JB


John F Bruno, PhDProfessor   
Department of Biology
UNC Chapel Hill
www.johnfbruno.com



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