Feeding habits of pterois volitans: a real threat to caribbean coral reef biodiversity
Registro en:
instname:Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano
reponame:Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano
Autor
Bustos-Montes, Diana
Acero, Arturo P.
Pabón Quintero, P.
Polo-Silva, Carlos Julio
Sanjuan Muñoz, A.
Institución
Resumen
Lionfish consume at least 250 fish and crustaceans prey species in the
western Atlantic. Main taxa eaten include grunts (Haemulon aurolineatum), wrasses
(Thalassoma bifasciatum and Halichoeres spp.), damselfishes (Stegastes partitus
and Chromis cyanea), gobies (Coryphopterus personatus), labrisomids
(Malacoctenus triangulatus) and Pterois volitans. Because lionfish prey on such a
long list of Caribbean reef fauna it should be considered a generalist invasive species
that even threats commercially and ecologically important species such as grunts,
groupers, snappers, triggerfishes, parrotfishes, surgeonfishes, gobies, lobsters, and
cleaner shrimps. Four richness estimators indicate that lionfish may consume around
300 species. Stable isotopes analysis ratifies that most prey eaten by lionfish are reef
dwellers. Lionfish diets from the Colombian Caribbean appear distant from the
Bahamas and Cayman Island diets in a cluster analysis. Research and monitoring
of this dangerous invading species should be maintained.