Abstract
MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 623:145-159 (2019) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13028 Density-dependent condition and growth of invasive lionfish in the northern Gulf of Mexico Kristen A. Dahl1,2,*, Morgan A. Edwards2, William F. Patterson III2 1School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA 2Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA *Corresponding author: kristenadahl@gmail.com ABSTRACT: Absent natural population control, invasive red lionfish Pterois volitans (hereafter, lionfish) have reached record densities in the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM), though the role of density dependence on their population dynamics remains poorly understood. This study examined the effects of population density, sex, and habitat on lionfish condition (i.e. mass relative to total length) and size-at-age. Lionfish density was estimated with a remotely operated vehicle during 2010-2017 at a series of nGOM natural (n = 16) and artificial (n = 22) reefs, and individual lionfish (n = 3296) were sampled at additional reefs in the same system between 2013 and 2017. Mean lionfish total length increased across time, while density increased through 2015 and then stabilized or slightly declined. Lionfish density at artificial reefs was 2 orders of magnitude greater than at natural reefs throughout the study. Fish condition was lower on artificial reefs across all years, and lower on natural reefs during 2015-2017 versus 2013-2014. Age estimates obtained from sagittal otoliths ranged from 0.2-7.7 yr, corresponding to birth years between 2008 and 2016. There were significant differences in growth and size-at-age between sexes and habitats, with males attaining larger sizes-at-age than females and fish growing faster at natural reefs. Significant declines in mean size-at-age and condition as a function of lionfish density were also observed. Overall, these results indicate condition and size-at-age displayed density-dependent effects that were likely due to inter- and intra-specific competition, which has important implications for invasive lionfish carrying capacity in the nGOM. KEY WORDS: Otolith · Size-at-age · Invasive species · Population dynamics Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Dahl KA, Edwards MA, Patterson WF III (2019) Density-dependent condition and growth of invasive lionfish in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 623:145-159. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13028 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 623. Online publication date: July 30, 2019 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2019 Inter-Research.
Highlights
Indo-Pacific red lionfish Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758) have extensively invaded the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic Ocean, including waters of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, over the last 30 yr (Schofield 2010, Schofield et al 2014)
Densities estimated by Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) sampling on individual study reefs ranged from 0.0−1.9 fish 100 m−2 on natural reefs and from 0.0−90.4 fish 100 m−2 on artificial reefs
Lionfish inhabiting densely populated artificial reefs exhibited smaller mean size-at-age, slower growth, and lower body condition compared to natural reefs, suggesting habitat effects were likely due to differences in lionfish density
Summary
Indo-Pacific red lionfish Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758) have extensively invaded the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic Ocean, including waters of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, over the last 30 yr (Schofield 2010, Schofield et al 2014). Part of their success in the invaded range is an ecological release from natural population control mechanisms otherwise present in their native range, such as predation, disease, and parasitism (Albins & Hixon 2013, Tuttle et al 2017). Extensive density-dependent cannibalism has been documented in the region (Dahl et al 2018)
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