Ecological interactions between Gulf of Mexico snappers (Teleostei: Lutjanidae) and invasive red lionfish (Pterois volitans).

ABSTRACT: Indo-Pacific red lionfish (Pterois volitans) have invaded the western Atlantic, and most recently the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM), at a rapid pace. Given their generalist habitat affinities and diet, and strong ecological overlap with members of the commercially valuable snapper-grouper complex, increased density and abundance of lionfish could result in significant competitive interactions with nGOM commercially important species. We experimentally investigated the intensity of behavioral interactions between lionfish and indigenous, abundant and economically important juvenile nGOM red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus), and other increasingly abundant juvenile tropical snapper species (gray snapper-L. griseus and lane snapper-L. synagris) in large outdoor mesocosms to examine snapper vul

SUBMITTER: Marshak AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6211729 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature