Setting the record straight on invasive lionfish control: Culling works

, , , ,
1 Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
2 Reef Environmental Education Foundation, Key Largo, FL, USA
3 Cape Eleuthera Institute, Rock Sound, Eleuthera, The Bahamas
4 Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
DOI
10.7287/peerj.preprints.398v1
Published
Accepted
Subject Areas
Conservation Biology, Ecology, Marine Biology, Science Policy
Keywords
marine invasions, coral reefs, Pterois volitans, population control
Copyright
© 2014 Côté et al.
Licence
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ PrePrints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
Cite this article
Côté IM, Akins L, Underwood E, Curtis-Quick J, Green SJ. 2014. Setting the record straight on invasive lionfish control: Culling works. PeerJ PrePrints 2:e398v1

Abstract

Indo-Pacific lionfish have invaded large parts of the western Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, and have already caused measurable declines in native Atlantic reef fauna. Culling efforts are occurring across the region, particularly on coral reefs, to reduce local lionfish abundances. Frequent culling has recently been shown to cause a shift towards more wary and reclusive behaviour by lionfish, which has prompted calls for halting culls. However, the effectiveness of culling per se is not in question. Culling successfully lowers lionfish numbers and has been shown to stabilise or even reverse declines in native prey fish. In fact, partial culling is often as effective as complete local eradication, yet requires significantly less time and effort. Abandoning culling altogether would therefore be seriously misguided and a hindrance to conservation. We offer suggestions for how to design removal programs that minimize behavioural changes and maximize culling success.