Volume 63
Invasive Red Lionfish in Shallow Habitats of the Turks & Caicos Islands.
Authors
Claydon, J.A.B., J. Batchasingh, M.C. Calosso, S.E. Jacob, and K. Lockhart Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2010
Pages: 315-319
Event: Proceedings of the Sixty-Third Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: San Juan
Country: Puerto Rico
Abstract
The distribution of invasive lionfish, Pterois volitans, in shallow habitats (< 1 m to 3 m depth) has been monitored around South Caicos, Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI) since the first sighting in November 2007. Lionfish appear to be significantly more abundant in seagrass rather than reef habitats. Moreover, the increase in density (estimated from catch per unit effort) increased significantly from 2009 to 2010 in seagrass, but not on shallow reefs. Within seagrass lionfish were found almost exclusively in blowout ledges. The size frequency distribution of lionfish captured in shallow habitats (n = 126) were compared to specimens caught by fishermen and SCUBA diving tourist operations (n = 809) from around the TCI as part of a government initiated competition. The locations of capture of these specimens were unknown, but was assumed to come from deeper predominantly reef habitats and were significantly larger than those caught in exclusively shallow habitats (16.7 cm SL +/- 4.3 SD versus 11.2 cm SL +/- 4.6 SD). Whilst this may be partly attributable to different methods of capture, this may indicate ontogenetic shifts in habitat use.