Rapid invasion of Indo-Pacific lionfishes (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles) in the Florida Keys, USA: evidence from multiple pre- and post-invasion data sets
Ruttenberg BI, Schofield PJ, Akins JL, Acosta A, Feeley MW, Blondeau J, Smith SG, Ault JS. 2012. Rapid invasion of Indo-Pacific lionfishes (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles) in the Florida Keys, USA: evidence from multiple pre- and post-invasion data sets. Bulletin of Marine Science. 88(4)
Over the past decade, Indo-Pacific lionfishes, Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758)and Pterois miles (Bennett, 1828), venomous members of the scorpionfish family(Scorpaenidae), have invaded and spread throughout much of the tropical andsubtropical northwestern Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. These species aregeneralist predators of fishes and invertebrates with the potential to disrupt theecology of the invaded range. Lionfishes have been present in low numbers along theeast coast of Florida since the 1980s, but were not reported in the Florida Keys until2009. We document the appearance and rapid spread of lionfishes in the FloridaKeys using multiple long-term data sets that include both pre- and post-invasionsampling. Our results are the first to quantify the invasion of lionfishes in a newarea using multiple independent, ongoing monitoring data sets, two of which haveexplicit estimates of sampling effort. Between 2009 and 2011, lionfish frequency ofoccurrence, abundance, and biomass increased rapidly, increasing three- to six-foldbetween 2010 and 2011 alone. In addition, individuals were detected on a variety ofreef and non-reef habitats throughout the Florida Keys. Because lionfish occurrence,abundance, and impacts are expected to continue to increase throughout the region,monitoring programs like those used in this study will be essential to documentecosystem changes that may result from this invasion.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Ruttenberg, Benjamin; Schofield, Pamela; Akins, J; Acosta, Alejandro; Feeley, Michael; Blondeau, Jeremiah; Smith, Steven; Ault, Jerald
- Units
- BISC , DRTO , EVER , SFCN
- Keywords
- Exotic, Fish, Florida Keys, Invasion, Lionfish, pterois miles, Pterois volitans