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Progression of invasive lionfish in seagrass, mangrove and reef habitats

2011; Inter-Research; Volume: 448; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3354/meps09534

1616-1599

JAB Claydon, MC Calosso, SB Traiger,

Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 448:119-129 (2012) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09534 Progression of invasive lionfish in seagrass, mangrove and reef habitats John Alexander Brightman Claydon*, Marta Caterina Calosso, Sarah Beth Traiger The School for Field Studies Center for Marine Resource Studies, South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands *Email: john.claydon@gmail.com ABSTRACT: The invasion of the Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitans into the western Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico is the fastest ever documented for a marine fish. Few studies have addressed the establishment of lionfish populations within a location, and habitats other than reefs have been largely overlooked. The present study reconstructed the invasion around South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), from multiple sources of data. Densities and size frequencies of lionfish were compared in deep reefs (10 to 30 m) and shallow habitats (seagrass, mangrove, sheltered reef, and exposed reef <5 m deep) over a 4 yr period (2007 to 2010). By the end of 2010, lionfish had been observed in all 5 habitats. There was a lag of almost 7 mo between the first sightings in shallow habitats (December 2007) and in deep reefs. After 2 to 3 yr, the density of lionfish in deep reefs surpassed those in shallow habitats. In November 2010, mean density was over 10× higher on deep reefs (9.51 lionfish seen observer−1 h−1 ± 5.37 SD) than in seagrass (0.87 ± 0.41; p < 0.05), which was significantly higher than in other shallow habitats (sheltered reef: 0.52 ± 0.47; exposed reef: 0.12 ± 0.13; and mangrove: 0.06 ± 0.10; p < 0.05). Lionfish on deep reefs (TL = 22.7 ± 7.5 cm) had significantly larger total lengths (TL; mean ± SD) than those in seagrass (TL = 15.0 ± 4.3 cm; p < 0.05) or sheltered reefs (TL = 14.6 ± 6.8 cm; p < 0.05). Assuming one population with ontogenetic movement between habitats, density and age estimates suggest that lionfish may have moved to deep reefs from other habitats. The results suggest that lionfish may settle preferentially, but not exclusively, in shallow habitats before moving to deep reefs. KEY WORDS: Pterois volitans · Invasion · Ontogeny · Habitat connectivity · Reef · Seagrass · Mangrove · Turks and Caicos Islands Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Claydon JAB, Calosso MC, Traiger SB (2012) Progression of invasive lionfish in seagrass, mangrove and reef habitats. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 448:119-129. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09534 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 448. Online publication date: February 23, 2012 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2012 Inter-Research.