NCCOS Project Explorer (NPE)

Assessments of developmental biology and physiology of invasive lionfish(2010)

Project Description:
Invasive lionfish have taken hold along the southeast U.S. coast and Caribbean. The biological mechanisms that have facilitated lionfish establishment are poorly understood. For this reason, we are assessing biology and physiology of lionfish throughout its life history. We are describing the reproductive biology of lionfish at the individual (oogenesis and spermatogenesis) and population scales (spawning seasonality, fecundity, size at maturity, and batch frequency). We are also developing spawning and rearing capabilities for lionfish to collect of series larval specimens at known age. These specimens will be used to validate timing of settlement and will allow descriptions of lionfish larvae. We are also investigating ontogenetic development of lionfish venom glands to assess when lionfish become venomous. Lastly, we are describing the parasites of invasive lionfish to characterize generalist parasites of marine finfish and to provide evidence of enemy release by this unprecedented invader.

Expected Outcome:
This project will provide comprehensive assessment of the biological mechanisms that have facilitated the rapid establishment of lionfish in the Atlantic and Caribbean. Collectively, this assessment is providing a synthesis of invasiveness characteristics. The results of this project will be beneficial for future assessments of invasiveness of other marine finfish being imported into the U.S. We expect to find that lionfish are capable of year-round reproduction and that they mature relatively early during their life history, thus allowing rapid regeneration. We hypothesize that lionfish larval duration is approximately 30 d allowing larval dispersal to be accomplished across great distances. We also expect to find few parasites of lionfish owing likely to their release from the aquarium trade and providing evidence of another competitive advantage in this novel environment. This assessment will be directly beneficial to coastal managers as it will provide the biological explanations elucidating how lionfish have become rapidly established. This information will be useful for assessing other marine ornamental imports for similar invasiveness characteristics.