Feeding ecology of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles) in the temperate and tropical western Atlantic
Numerous location-based diet studies have been published describing different aspects of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles) feeding ecology, but there has been no synthesis of their diet composition and feeding patterns across regional gradients. 8125 lionfish stomachs colle...
| Autores Principales: | Peake, Jonathan, Bogdanoff, Alex, Layman, Craig A., Castillo, Bernard, Reale-Munroe, Kynoch, Chapman, Jennifer, Dahl, Kristen, Corey, Eddy, Ellis, Robert, Falett, Meaghan, Higgs, Nicholas, Johnston, Michelle A., Muñoz, Roldan C., Sandel, Vera, Villaseñor-Derbez, Juan Carlos, Morris Jr, James A., Patterson III, William |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Universidad Nacional (Costa Rica)
2022
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: |
http://hdl.handle.net/11056/23721 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-018-1720-5 |
| Sumario: |
Numerous location-based diet studies
have been published describing different aspects of
invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles)
feeding ecology, but there has been no synthesis of
their diet composition and feeding patterns across
regional gradients. 8125 lionfish stomachs collected
from 10 locations were analyzed to provide a gener alized description of their feeding ecology at a
regional scale and to compare their diet among locations. Our regional data indicate lionfish in the
western Atlantic are opportunistic generalist carni vores that consume at least 167 vertebrate and
invertebrate prey species across multiple trophic
guilds, and carnivorous fish and shrimp prey that are
not managed fishery species and not considered at risk
of extinction by the International Union for Conser vation of Nature disproportionately dominate their
diet. Correlations between lionfish size and their diet
composition indicate lionfish in the western Atlantic transition from a shrimp-dominated diet to a fish dominated diet through ontogeny. Lionfish total length
(TL) (mm) was found to predict mean prey mass per
stomach (g) by the following equation mean prey
mass =0.0002*TL1.6391, which can be used to estimate
prey biomass consumption from lionfish length frequency data. Our locational comparisons indicate
lionfish diet varies considerably among locations,
even at the group (e.g., crab) and trophic guild levels.
The Modified Index of Relative Importance developed
specifically for this study, calculated as the frequency
of prey a 9 the number of prey a, can be used in other
diet studies to assess prey importance when prey mass
data are not available. Researchers and managers can
use the diet data presented in this study to make
inference about lionfish feeding ecology in areas
where their diet has yet to be described. These data can
be used to guide research and monitoring efforts, and
can be used in modeling exercises to simulate the
potential effects of lionfish on marine food webs.
Given the large variability in lionfish diet composition
among locations, this study highlights the importance
of continued location-based diet assessments to better
inform local management activities. |
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