Abstract

Widely regarded as a generalist predator with a voracious appetite, lionfish are principally piscivorous and have been known to feed opportunistically on a wide range of taxa including invertebrates. Lionfish have been present throughout the invaded Atlantic-Caribbean region across different habitats and for varying time scales. If lionfish feeding ecology differs among islands, the consequent ecological impacts are likely to vary, cautioning against drawing inferences from studies in contrasting habitats and warranting control strategies to be tailored accordingly. To determine the feeding ecology of lionfish in the southern Caribbean, the stomach contents of 11,161 lionfish from Bonaire, Klein Bonaire and Curacao were analysed. Stomach contents were identified and feeding ecology analysed to assess whether feeding behaviours and preferences were uniform throughout the introduced range. Dietary preferences were assessed to determine whether any traits of prey increased vulnerabilty to lionfish predation, Results were compared to the only other equivalent-scale analyses of stomach contents of invasive lionfish, drawn from the Bahamas. This research revealed that although lionfish diets amongst Bahamas, Bonare, Klein Bonaire and Curacao were similar in terms of composition, there were considerable differences in rankings of dietary importance. This research therefore confirms that the feeding behaviours and preferences of lionfish are not uniform throughout their introduced range and reveals the potentials implications for ecology if lionfish are not as ubiquitous as represented in the Bahamas.

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