Presence of the invasive red lionfish, Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758), on the coast of Venezuela, southeastern Caribbean Sea

Oscar Lasso-Alcalá,Juan Posada

doi:10.3391/ai.2010.5.s1.013

Abstract

We report the presence of the invasive Indo-Pacific red lionfish (Pterois volitans) in 23 localities of the Venezuelan coast, southeastern Caribbean Sea. This finding is based on ten specimens collected at Parque Nacional Archipielago de Los Roques (PNAR, Dependencias Federales), Playa Cal, Caraballeda and Puerto Carayaca (Estado Vargas) and 30 specimens observed in 18 localities of PNAR, Parque Nacional Morrocoy (Estado Falcon), Bahia de Cata, Ensenada de Cepe (Estado Aragua), Puerto Cruz, Chichiriviche de La Costa, Mamo, Catia La Mar, La Guaira, Macuto, Caraballeda (Estado Vargas) and Farallon Centinela (Dependencias Federales). The specimens were collected and observed from November 2009 to June 2010. This is the first published report documenting their occurrence in Venezuela.

Highlights

The introduction of exotic or non-native species to natural ecosystems has been identified as the second greatest threat to biodiversity after habitat destruction (Gracia et al 2009)
It produces dramatic effects to biological productivity, habitat structure and species composition (Pérez et al 2007; Gracia et al 2009). This introduction usually is followed by the establishment, competition and displacement of native species. This is the case of the lionfish in the Western Atlantic
The establishment and invasion of this species is of particular importance for the ecosystem and the human health, due to its venomous spines, predation on other fish species and lack of any known predators (Whitfield et al 2002)

Summary

Introduction

The introduction of exotic or non-native species to natural ecosystems has been identified as the second greatest threat to biodiversity after habitat destruction (Gracia et al 2009). Lionfishes (genus Pterois (Linnaeus 1758)) contain nine valid species native to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean throughout the Western Pacific (Schultz 1986).

Results

Conclusion