Volume 68
Changes in Lionfish Prey Consumption
Authors
Castillo, B.I. and K. Reale-Munroe Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2015
Pages: 220
Event: Proceedings of the Sixty eigth Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Panama City
Country: Panama
Abstract
The invasion of the Atlantic waters by the Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans) began in the early 1990s off the coast of Florida. By 2008 the invasive lionfish made its way to the US Virgin Islands. On November 25, 2008 the first confirmed Indo-Pacific lionfish was removed from Frederiksted Pier on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Currently, the lionfish popula-tions in the US Virgin Islands are well established and have spread down the Lesser Antilles toward South America. This study investigated potential temporal and spatial changes in prey consumption by lionfish culled from reefs surrounding St. Croix. After observing gut contents of 542 lionfish in 2011 that were collected from the west end of St. Croix and 86 lionfish from the northeast end in 2013, results indicated that lionfish preferred the same top three prey items, regardless of location.