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Invasive Lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles): Distribution, Impact, and Management

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Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems

Part of the book series: Coral Reefs of the World ((CORW,volume 12))

Abstract

Non-native lionfish have invaded mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) across the western Atlantic and are in the early stages of invading mesophotic depths in the Mediterranean Sea. Records of invasive lionfish at mesophotic depths from both non-native ranges are reviewed herein, including from 15 distinct countries/geographic areas in the western Atlantic region and 6 eastern Mediterranean countries. Lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles) generally occur at high densities on many western Atlantic upper MCEs (30–60 m), with the highest abundances associated with areas of greater structural complexity. Despite several studies reporting lionfish on lower MCEs (60–150 m) and the deep sea (>200 m), there has been little quantification of these deeper lionfish populations. There is currently conflicting evidence whether MCE lionfish populations represent extensions of shallow reef ontogenetic migrations. While many studies report larger lionfish on MCEs than adjacent shallow habitat, these are often confounded by the presence of shallow reef lionfish culling. Several studies have directly quantified invasive lionfish impacts on MCEs, which all record lionfish causing declines in fish abundance or diversity on western Atlantic upper MCEs. No studies have quantified lionfish impacts on reefs >91 m depth. While lionfish control measures for MCEs, such as culling and trapping, are increasingly being adopted, there is currently little evidence these mitigate lionfish impacts on MCEs.

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Acknowledgments

The author wishes to acknowledge the support of Operation Wallacea, a Fisheries Society of the British Isles PhD Studentship, and the University of Oxford Thinking Deep Expedition. The author also wishes to acknowledge Alex David Rogers, Dan A Exton, Erika Gress, Alicia Hendrix, and Rachel Grey for many useful discussions over the past few years that have supported the ideas presented in this manuscript. This manuscript was substantially improved by the comments of four reviewers who the author would like to thank.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, John Krebs Field Station, Oxford, UK

    Dominic A. Andradi-Brown

  2. Ocean Conservation, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, Washington, DC, USA

    Dominic A. Andradi-Brown

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  1. Dominic A. Andradi-Brown
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Correspondence to Dominic A. Andradi-Brown .

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  1. George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Yossi Loya

  2. National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Silver Spring, MD, USA

    Kimberly A. Puglise

  3. Biodiversity and Geosciences Program, Museum of Tropical Queensland, Queensland Museum Network, Townsville, QLD, Australia

    Tom C.L. Bridge

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Andradi-Brown, D.A. (2019). Invasive Lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles): Distribution, Impact, and Management. In: Loya, Y., Puglise, K., Bridge, T. (eds) Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems. Coral Reefs of the World, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92735-0_48

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