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Chronology of the Lionfish Invasion in Cuba and Evaluation of Impacts on Native Reef Fishes

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Coral Reefs of Cuba

Part of the book series: Coral Reefs of the World ((CORW,volume 18))

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Abstract

Indo-Pacific lionfish have invaded the Western Atlantic. The chronology of the lionfish invasion in Cuba was described by the creation of a visual sighting database and in situ visual monitoring. The establishment of lionfish in Cuba began at the end of 2006, and by the beginning of 2010, lionfish were present across the entire Cuban archipelago. For the impact evaluation, the lionfish diet was characterized by means stomach analyses to determine their principal prey species. The main competitors were selected based on fish predators with similar size, diet composition, and habitat preferences. The distribution, abundance, and biomass of lionfish and their main prey species and competitors were recorded by visual censuses. Data from ten reef sites of Western Cuba, recorded before and after lionfish presence, were modeled by means of artificial neural networks. We found no effect of lionfish on reef fish population variables. Interactions among lionfish and native fish are modulated by several biotic and abiotic factors, including several adaptative mechanisms that reduce negative effect of invaders. Lionfish are progressively becoming a new component of the Caribbean biodiversity and native fish populations are adapting to their presence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Acuario Nacional de Cuba, Havana, Cuba

    Pedro Pablo Chevalier Monteagudo, Raúl Igor Corrada Wong, Alexis Fernández Osoria & Delmis Cabrera Guerra

  2. Parque Nacional Guanahacabibes, Centro de Investigaciones y Servicios Ambientales, ECOVIDA, Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente, Pinar del Río, Cuba

    Dorka Cobián Rojas

  3. Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, CONABIO, Parques del Pedregal, Mexico

    Hansel Caballero Aragón

  4. Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, Havana, Cuba

    Zenaida María Navarro Martínez & Leandro Rodríguez Viera

Authors
  1. Pedro Pablo Chevalier Monteagudo
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  2. Dorka Cobián Rojas
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  3. Raúl Igor Corrada Wong
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  4. Alexis Fernández Osoria
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  5. Hansel Caballero Aragón
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  6. Delmis Cabrera Guerra
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  7. Zenaida María Navarro Martínez
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  8. Leandro Rodríguez Viera
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Independent Scientist, Bristol, RI, USA

    Vassil N. Zlatarski

  2. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, FL, USA

    John K. Reed

  3. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, FL, USA

    Shirley A. Pomponi

  4. Coastal and Marine Lab, Florida State University, St. Teresa, FL, USA

    Sandra Brooke

  5. Techglobal Inc, Rockville, MD, USA

    Stephanie Farrington

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Monteagudo, P.P.C. et al. (2023). Chronology of the Lionfish Invasion in Cuba and Evaluation of Impacts on Native Reef Fishes. In: Zlatarski, V.N., Reed, J.K., Pomponi, S.A., Brooke, S., Farrington, S. (eds) Coral Reefs of Cuba. Coral Reefs of the World, vol 18. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36719-9_12

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