Predation rates of Indo-Pacific lionfish on Bahamian coral reefs

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 404:219-225 (2010) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08458 Predation rates of Indo-Pacific lionfish on Bahamian coral reefs Isabelle M. Côté*, Aleksandra Maljković Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada *Email: imcote@sfu.ca ABSTRACT: Indo-Pacific lionfish, mainly Pterois volitans, are currently invading coral reefs throughout the Caribbean region, where they have the potential to outcompete and prey upon a wide range of native reef animals. Here, we derive the first estimates of rates of predation by lionfish from field observations on natural reefs around New Providence, Bahamas. Although lionfish are reported to be crepuscular in their native range, they were very active during daylight hours. Lionfish were observed hunting at least 19 reef fish species, in at least 9 families. They hunted significantly more on overcast days and at greater depths, and frequently hunted near aggregations of fish at cleaning stations. Lionfish consumed native fish at an average rate of 1.44 kills h–1 (0.29 kills h–1 on clear days and 2.29 kills h–1 on overcast days). This estimate may be conservative if lionfish hunt also between dusk and dawn. This rate is considerably higher than the only known prey consumption rate for P. volitans, which is extrapolated from ad libitum feeding of fish from the native range. Our results imply that using published predation rates from the native range to predict the impacts of lionfish on native Caribbean fish could lead to severe underestimation of these impacts. KEY WORDS: Behavioural observations · Biological invasions · Foraging strategies · Marine introductions · Predator–prey interactions · Turkeyfish Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Côté IM, Maljković A (2010) Predation rates of Indo-Pacific lionfish on Bahamian coral reefs. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 404:219-225. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08458Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 404. Online publication date: April 08, 2010 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2010 Inter-Research.