Abstract

The scale of the ecological impact of lionfish can be challenging to demonstrate to a nonscientist in a classroom envi-ronment. Described here is an interactive workshop that bridges science and education into a hands-on activity delivered at the Little Cayman Research Centre (LCRC). A short presentation culminated with an introduction to the “Criminal Fish Investigation (CFI)”. The classroom was transformed into a “crime scene” with lionfish and prey playing the “villain” and “victims”, respectively. Here students interact with four workstations; 1) A lionfish dissection allowed students to investi-gate how morphological characteristics and traits (predation strategy, expanding stomach, high fecundity, venomous spines) make lionfish the “perfect villain”. 2) Students identified a number “victims” visually using identification books. 3) Often fish were too digested to identify visually and species specific fish scales were used as “fingerprints” of “victims”. Students used microscopes to match pre-fixed “fingerprint” slides to randomly assorted pictures of “fingerprints”. 4) When victims were identified students selected the location of the “crime” by placing the “victims” within their microhabitat on the “crime board”. The workshop was tested on over 90 students and teachers as part of residential courses at the LCRC. Twenty-two surveys collected after the workshop indicated an increase in understanding of lionfish biology (109%), ecological impacts (87%) and management strategies (102%). Students were all challenged to eat lionfish with 72% stating they would “definitely” consume lionfish after the workshop. The CFI workshop proved effective in translating science to a thought provoking educational activity.

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