Age, growth and population structure of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) in northeast Florida using a length-based, age-structured population model
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
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Abstract
The effective management of invasive species requires a detailed understanding of the invader’s life history. This information is essential for modeling population growth and predicting rates of expansion, quantifying ecological impacts and assessing the efficacy of removal and control strategies. Indo-Pacific lionfish ( Pterois volitans/miles ) have rapidly invaded the western Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea with documented negative impacts on native ecosystems. To better understand the life history of this species, we developed and validated a length-based, age-structured model to investigate age, growth and population structure in northeast Florida. The main findings of this study were: (1) lionfish exhibited rapid growth with seasonal variation in growth rates, (2) distinct cohorts were clearly identifiable in the length-frequency data suggesting that lionfish arerecruiting during a relatively short period in summer, and (3) the majority of lionfish were less than two years old with no lionfish older than 3 years of age, possibly as a result of an ontogenetic shift to deeper water, which may provide a reservoir of spawning biomass not accessible to recreational or commercial spearfishing.
Cite this as
2016. Age, growth and population structure of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) in northeast Florida using a length-based, age-structured population model. PeerJ Preprints 4:e2366v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.2366v1note This preprint is not peer-reviewed. You may wish to reference the subsequent peer-reviewed version of this article.
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This is a submission to PeerJ for review.
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Competing Interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Author Contributions
Eric G Johnson conceived and designed the experiments, performed the experiments, analyzed the data, wrote the paper, prepared figures and/or tables.
Mary Katherine Swenarton conceived and designed the experiments, performed the experiments, analyzed the data, prepared figures and/or tables, reviewed drafts of the paper.
Animal Ethics
The following information was supplied relating to ethical approvals (i.e., approving body and any reference numbers):
All lionfish used in this study were handled in strict accordance with a UNF IACUC protocol (IACUC#13-004) and tissues of opportunity waivers approved by the University of North Florida. UNF IACUC defines tissues of opportunity as samples collected: (1) during the course of another project with an approved IACUC protocol from another institution; (2) during normal veterinary care by appropriately permitted facilities; or (3) from free-ranging animals by appropriately permitted facilities. Lionfish removals are encouraged by the State of Florida and sample collection locations did not require any specific permissions. No endangered or protected species were harmed during the course of this study.
Data Deposition
The following information was supplied regarding data availability:
The raw data has been supplied as a supplementary file.
Funding
Funding for this work was provided from the University of North Florida Dean's Leadership Council, West Marine - Marine Conservation Grant Program, National Science Foundation (OCE-1156659), UNF Academic Affairs Faculty Development Grant Program, UNF Coastal Biology Program, UNF Department of Biology and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.