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Large-scale invasion of western Atlantic mesophotic reefs by lionfish potentially undermines culling-based management

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Abstract

The detrimental effects of invasive lionfishes (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles) on western Atlantic shallow reefs are well documented, including declines in coral cover and native fish populations, with disproportionate predation on critically endangered reef fish in some locations. Yet despite individuals reaching depths >100 m, the role of mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs; reefs 30–150 m) in lionfish ecology has not been addressed. With lionfish control programs in most invaded locations limited to 30 m by diving restrictions, understanding the role of MCEs in lionfish distributions remains a critical knowledge gap potentially hindering conservation management. Here we synthesise unpublished and previously published studies of lionfish abundance and body length at paired shallow reef (0–30 m) and MCE sites in 63 locations in seven western Atlantic countries and eight sites in three Indo-Pacific countries where lionfish are native. Lionfish were found at similar abundances across the depth gradient from shallow to adjacent MCEs, with no difference between invaded and native sites. Of the five invaded countries where length data were available three had larger lionfish on mesophotic than shallow reefs, one showed no significant difference, while the fifth represented a recently invaded site. This suggests at least some mesophotic populations may represent extensions of natural ontogenetic migrations. Interestingly, despite their shallow focus, in many cases culling programs did not appear to alter abundance between depths. In general, we identify widespread invasive lionfish populations on MCE that could be responsible for maintaining high densities of lionfish recruits despite local shallow-biased control programs. This study highlights the need for management plans to incorporate lionfish populations below the depth limit of recreational diving in order to address all aspects of the local population and maximise the effectiveness of control efforts.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Matthew Speight for illustrating Fig. 5. DAAB was jointly funded by a Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI) PhD studentship and Operation Wallacea. IB and RA were supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (NOAA/CSCOR) (Grant No. NA06NOS4780190). GGG, ADC, JMP, CE and SRS acknowledge the support of the Darwin Plus Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund through the UK Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for data collected in Bermuda. LAR, HTP, BS and EJ acknowledges the logistical support of “Dutch” and his team at the Curaçao Seaquarium. HTP is a recipient of a doctoral fellowship from CNPq (Ciência sem Fronteiras; GDE 202475/2011-5). Financial support for data collection in Bermuda and Curaçao was also provided by the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and the California Academy of Sciences. We would like to thank the editor and reviewers for comments that improved this manuscript.

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Correspondence to Dominic A. Andradi-Brown.

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Alex D. Rogers and Dan A. Exton have contributed equally to the manuscript and are joint last authors

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Andradi-Brown, D.A., Vermeij, M.J.A., Slattery, M. et al. Large-scale invasion of western Atlantic mesophotic reefs by lionfish potentially undermines culling-based management. Biol Invasions 19, 939–954 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-016-1358-0

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