Abstract

Lionfish from the Indo-Pacific have recently invaded the northwest Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. As aggressive and voracious predators, they pose a major threat to economically and ecologically important fish species, and, therefore, the overall health of coral reef ecosystems. In Bermuda, the rapid growth of the lionfish population could have disastrous consequences for the marine environment, but at this stage their invasion and impact appear to be developing slowly. This project will examine the feeding ecology of this species, through both stomach content and stable isotope analysis, to clarify their likely impact on the native fish community and entire local ecosystem, as well as possible factors driving its distribution. This information will then be used to track the impact of lionfish over time and predict changes in their distribution to inform a control strategy. We present preliminary results from stomach content analysis suggesting that small, relatively unknown crustacean species, potentially vulnerable to novel predatory stress, are the most common prey items. Further, preliminary results from the stable isotope analysis, including samples from prey and competitor species, indicate characteristics of the lionfish food web such as carbon sources, resource overlap, and overall community structure as well as their trophic position.

PDF Preview