Movement ecology of Indo-Pacific lionfish on Caribbean coral reefs and its implications for invasion dynamics

Abstract

The spread of marine invasive species at large geographic scales depends largely on current-driven larval dispersal. However, at smaller spatial scales, movements occurring after larval settlement can greatly influence the success of local control programs. We conducted the first dedicated tracking study of Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles) on Caribbean coral reefs. Using a mark-resighting approach, we estimated the scale and frequency of movements of 79 tagged lionfish on patchy and continuous reefs to study factors influencing movement. Many tagged lionfish moved relatively little, with ~60 % of fish resighted at least once and 10 % not moving from their initial tagging location. However, maximum movements (as far as 1.35 km in 15 days) far exceeded previous estimates. Lionfish movement was density dependent, declined at larger body sizes, and depended on seascape structure. Lionfish on continuous reefs moved faster and more often than those on patch reefs, and lionfish in patchy habitats moved farther when patches were closer together. Invasions taking place over heterogeneous seascapes such as coral reefs are difficult to manage effectively with spatially uniform regional management plans, but understanding an invader’s movement ecology can help to optimize the distribution of limited resources for invasive management.