Abstract

The invasive red lionfish (Pterois volitans) was first sighted in the Cayman Islands February 2008. Lionfish (LF) have been documented to indiscriminately consume large quantities of prey thereby reducing abundance of various fish species on coral reefs and its associated habitats. 105 sites were surveyed across the three island archipelago in summer 2014, in which their density, biomass, size, prey availability and prey consumed (diet) were assessed. In this study, mangroves, sea-grass beds, patch reefs; shallow terrace reefs, deep terrace reefs and deep walls of the Cayman Islands were surveyed and compared to previous years. Furthermore, density of LF in areas subjected to culling effort was assessed. LF density among islands differed, with Little Cayman (LC) having the lowest value (46.89 ± 9.41 ind./ha), followed by Grand Cayman (GC) and Cayman Brac (CB) (54.04±10.01 and 83.88 ± 22.93 ind./ha respectively). Comparisons between years 2012 and 2014 demonstrated a decreasing trend in LF density across habitats, whilst recording the presence of LF in mangroves in GC and LC for the first time. GC had the lowest biomass, followed by LC, with CB showing a value threefold of GC. LF mean total length for the Cayman Islands was 25.76 ± 0.43 with largest recorded in GC of 36.2cm. Stomach content analysis showed that teleost fishes were the preferred food across islands, diet data showed a significant preference of prey eaten among the three islands; additionally prey availability did not appear to influence density of LF in any habitat

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