Project Summary for 2006-07A: Assessment of the status and risk posed by the invasive lionfish in North Carolina hardbottom communities
The Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles complex), a venomous predatory fish with few natural enemies, is established (reproducing and dispersing) with a widespread distribution along the southeast shelf of the United States. Within the last five years lionfish have spread from Florida to Cape Hatteras, NC and Bermuda (Whitfield et al. 2002, Hare and Whitfield 2003). This is the first Pacific marine fish to become established in Atlantic waters but may not be the last (Semmens et al.2003). In August 2004 and February 2005 research (funded by NOAA's Undersea Research Center in Wilmington) examined the status of the lionfish invasion within North Carolina hardbottom communities. We had three primary goals; 1) establish a baseline of population abundance for lionfish and native fish communities to determine population status, 2) characterize the ecological role of lionfish to determine the risk associated with their presence, and 3) evaluate laboratory-derived thermal tolerances to predict geographic distribution.
The previous two years (FY04/05) of this research have yielded the first quantitative lionfish population data since lionfish were first reported in 2000. Our results indicate that lionfish have been increasing in abundance since they were first reported in August 2000. These data, while preliminary, suggest that lionfish may have a much larger impact than originally anticipated. Future research is essential to understand how the lionfish population will impact native communities and to understand the full extent and consequences of this invasion.
The research we propose in FY07 will continue to build on what we have learned previously (04/05) as well as be compared to the FY06 data. This research is designed to expand our knowledge base in 4 important ways; we will, 1) compare future lionfish and native fish surveys to our existing baseline dataset to examine year to year changes in abundance for both lionfish and selected native species, 2) expand the ecological and life history study of the Atlantic lionfish to include specimens from the southern range (i.e. Florida) and conduct in-situ lionfish tagging studies to understand lionfish migration habitats and mortality, 3) evaluate in-situ lionfish winter temperature tolerances at locations where they are not expected to overwinter to predict the potential geographic distribution of lionfish. Finally, 4) expand public outreach and education efforts about the threat of invasive species by contributing to an aquatic invasive species educational partnership between Sea Grant and the American Zoo and Aquarium (AZA) Associated facilities. This research is the next step toward understanding the consequences of the lionfish invasion and possibly of marine fish invasions in general, and directly supports NOAA and NURP program core project goals "to characterize assess, and analyze the spread of alien and invasive species"
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