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. 2017 Aug 17:5:e3683.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.3683. eCollection 2017.

Lionfish (Pterois spp.) invade the upper-bathyal zone in the western Atlantic

Erika Gress #  1 , Dominic A Andradi-Brown #  2   3 , Lucy Woodall  1   2 , Pamela J Schofield  4 , Karl Stanley  5 , Alex D Rogers  1   2
Affiliations

Lionfish (Pterois spp.) invade the upper-bathyal zone in the western Atlantic

Erika Gress et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

Non-native lionfish have been recorded throughout the western Atlantic on both shallow and mesophotic reefs, where they have been linked to declines in reef health. In this study we report the first lionfish observations from the deep sea (>200 m) in Bermuda and Roatan, Honduras, with lionfish observed to a maximum depth of 304 m off the Bermuda platform, and 250 m off West End, Roatan. Placed in the context of other deeper lionfish observations and records, our results imply that lionfish may be present in the 200-300 m depth range of the upper-bathyal zone across many locations in the western Atlantic, but currently are under-sampled compared to shallow habitats. We highlight the need for considering deep-sea lionfish populations in future invasive lionfish management.

Keywords: Bermuda; Deep sea; Depth record; Invasive species; Lionfish; Pterois; Roatan Honduras; Upper bathyal.

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Conflict of interest statement

KS is the owner of the Roatan Institute of Deepsea Exploration. DAAB is an employee of Operation Wallacea. EG, LW and ADR are employees of the Nekton Foundation.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Map showing location of deepest observed lionfish for (A) Bermuda and (B) Roatan, Honduras.
Inset maps indicate the locations of Bermuda and Roatan respectively relative to the western Atlantic region. In (A) the dashed line indicates the 50 m depth contour to show the outline of the Bermuda platform. The reef drops off steeply at this location, such that our 304 m lionfish observation is close to the 50 m depth contour.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Lionfish at 297 m depth off the northeastern slope of the Bermuda platform.
(A) The lionfish resting on the reef is indicated within the red circle. Other fish species shown are Gephyroberyx darwinii and cf. Pronotogrammus martinicensis. (B) Lionfish swimming over the benthos. The laser dots are separated by 0.25 m. Both (A) and (B) show the same individual that swam across the benthos as disturbed by the submersible.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Lionfish off Half Moon Bay, West End, Roatan, Honduras.
(A) Lionfish swimming over the benthos at 180 m depth, and (B) two lionfish resting at 240 m depth.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Locations of confirmed and possible lionfish observations ≥200 m depth in the western Atlantic. The confirmed sightings represent our observations in Bermuda and Roatan, and the previously reported observations in the Bahamas (Albins & Hixon, 2013) and Curaçao (Tornabene & Baldwin, 2017). The unconfirmed sighting represent a record from the US Geological Survey Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database associated with bathymetry ≥200 m, though there is no direct information on the depth of the lionfish observation for this record.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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