Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Larval duration of the lionfish, Pterois volitans along the Bahamian Archipelago

  • Published:
Environmental Biology of Fishes Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Larval duration of the non-native Indo-Pacific lionfish was estimated from samples collected along the Bahamian Archipelago using sagittal otoliths. Settlement marks, characterized by daily growth increments with reduced coloration, less definitive margins, and a re-orientation of the growth axes and otolith shape, were determined for 28 individuals. Settlement age was between 20 and 35 days with a mean of 26.2 days. Comparisons of settlement age to other littoral and reef fish species suggest that lionfish settlement age is moderate to relatively low. Lionfish pelagic larval duration is apparently sufficient to allow their rapid establishment and wide geographic range in the western Atlantic and Caribbean.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

References

  • Beamish RJ, Fournier DA (1981) A method for comparing the precision of a set of age determinations. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 38:982–983

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beamish RJ, McFarlane GA (1983) The forgotten requirement for age validation in fisheries biology. Trans Am Fish Soc 112:735–743

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brothers EB, McB WD, Sale PF (1983) Length of larval life in twelve families of fishes at “One Tree Lagoon”, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Mar Biol 76:319–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowen RK (1991) Variation in the planktonic larval duration of the temperate wrasse Semicossyphus pulcher. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 69:9–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowen RK, Paris CB, Srinivasan A (2006) Scaling of connectivity in marine populations. Science 311:522–526

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Epperly SP, Ahrenholz DW, Tester PA (1991) A universal method for preparing, sectioning and polishing fish otoliths for daily ageing. Dept. Comm., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-SEFSC-283, 15p

  • Floeter SR, Rocha LA, Robertson DR, Joyeux JC, Smith-Vaniz WF, Wirtz P, Edwards AJ, Barreiros JP, Ferreira CEL, Gasparini JL, Brito A, Falcón JM, Bowen BW, Bernardi G (2008) Atlantic reef fish biogeography and evolution. J Biogeogr 35:22–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Freshwater DW, Hines A, Parham S, Wilbur A, Sabaoun M, Woodhead J, Akins L, Purdy B, Whitfield PE, Paris CB (2009) Mitochondrial control region sequence analyses indicate dispersal from the US East Coast as the source of the invasive Indo-Pacific Lionfish Pterois volitans in the Bahamas. Mar Biol 156:1213–1221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green SJ, Côté IM (2009) Record densities of Indo-Pacific Lionfish on Bahamian coral reefs. Coral Reefs 28:107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimura S, Tsukamkoto Y, Mori K (1989) Early developmental stages of the Scorpaeinid fish, Scorpaena moistoma, reared in the laboratory. Japan J Ichthyol 35:434–439

    Google Scholar 

  • Lester SE, Ruttenberg BI (2005) The relationship between pelagic larval duration and range size in tropical reef fishes: a synthetic analysis. Proc R Soc B 272:585–591

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Macpherson E, Raventos N (2006) Relationship between pelagic larval duration and geographic distribution of Mediterranean littoral fishes. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 327:257–265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris JA Jr (2009) The biology and ecology of the invasive Indo-Pacific Lionfish. Ph.D. Dissertation. North Carolina State University

  • Morris JA Jr, Akins JL (2009) Feeding ecology of invasive Lionfish (Pterois volitans) in the Bahamian Archipelago. Environ Biol Fish 86:389–398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris JA Jr, Whitfield PE (2009) Biology, ecology, control and management of the invasive Indo-Pacific Lionfish: an updated integrated assessment. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 99. 59p

  • Morris JA Jr, Akins JL, Barse A, Cerino D, Freshwater DW, Green JL, Muñoz RC, Paris C, Whitfield PE (2009) Biology and ecology of the invasive Lionfishes, Pterois miles and Pterois volitans. Proc Gulf Carib Fish Inst 29:409–414

    Google Scholar 

  • Schofield PJ (2009) Geographic extent and chronology of the invasion of non-native Lionfish (Pterois volitans [Linnaeus 1758] and P. miles [Bennett 1828] in the Western North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. Aquatic Invasions 4:473–479

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schofield PJ, Morris JA Jr, Langston JN, Fuller PL (2010) Pterois volitans/miles. US Geological Survey Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Data Base, Gainesville, FL. http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=963. Accessed 25 Jan 2010

  • Secor DH, Dean JM, Laban EH (1992) Otolith removal and preparation for microstructural examination. Can Spec Publ Fish Aquat Sci 117:19–57

    Google Scholar 

  • Snyder DB, Burgess GH (2007) The Indo-Pacific red Lionfish, Pterois volitans (Pisces: Scorpaenidae), new to Bahamian ichthyofauna. Coral Reefs 26:175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Victor BC (1986a) Duration of the planktonic larval stage of one hundred species of Pacific and Atlantic wrasses (family Labridae). Mar Biol 90:317–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Victor BC (1986b) Delayed metamorphosis with reduced larval growth in a coral reef fish (Thalassoma bifasciatum). Can J Fish Aquat Sci 43:1208–1213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Victor BC (1991) Settlement strategies and biogeography of reeffishes. In: Sale PF (ed) The ecology of fishes on coral reefs. Academic, San Diego, pp 231–260

    Google Scholar 

  • Victor BC, Wellington GM (2000) Endemism and the pelagic larval duration of reef fishes in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 205:241–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wellington GM, Victor BC (1989) Planktonic larval duration of one hundred species of Pacific and Atlantic damselfishes (Pomacentridae). Mar Biol 101:557–567

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson DT, McCormick MI (1997) Spatial and temporal validation of settlement-marks in the otoliths of tropical reef fishes. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 153:259–271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson DT, McCormick MI (1999) Microstructure of settlement-marks in the otoliths of tropical reef fishes. Mar Biol 134:29–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Many individuals aided in the gathering and processing of materials and in the preparation of this manuscript; but the authors accept sole responsibility for content. D. Squires sectioned, ground, and polished otoliths for our analysis. Members of the Reef Environmental Education Foundation, specifically L. Akins, heavily supported this research through collection of specimens. We thank the Department of Marine Resources, The Bahamas for permitting the collection of lionfish in Bahamian waters. Drafts of this manuscript were improved significantly by comments by R. Muñoz, G.B. Martin, B. Victor, T. Kellison, J. Govoni and three anonymous reviewers.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, 101 Pivers Island Rd., Beaufort, NC, 28516, USA

    Dean W. Ahrenholz

  2. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research, 101 Pivers Island Rd., Beaufort, NC, 28516, USA

    James A. Morris Jr.

Authors
  1. Dean W. Ahrenholz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. James A. Morris Jr.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to James A. Morris Jr..

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ahrenholz, D.W., Morris, J.A. Larval duration of the lionfish, Pterois volitans along the Bahamian Archipelago. Environ Biol Fish 88, 305–309 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-010-9647-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-010-9647-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation