Distributions of Indo-Pacific lionfishes Pterois spp. in their native ranges: implications for the Atlantic invasion
Open accessAbstract
Lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles) have become a major concern in the western Atlantic and Caribbean since their introduction in the 1980s.Invasive lionfish can reach very high population densities on coral reefs in their invaded range, yet there are few data from their native range in the Indo-Pacific for comparison.We compiled data on the geographical distribution and density of Indo-Pacific lionfishes in their native ranges from published and unpublished underwater visual censuses and field collections.We found that lionfish in their native Indo-Pacific range are unevenly distributed, with higher densities in the Indian Ocean than in the Pacific.Lionfish densities increase significantly with increasing latitude, and are significantly higher in continental areas than around islands.In the Indo-Pacific, lionfishes are found not only on reefs but also on soft bottoms and in nearshore habitats such as seagrass beds and mangroves, and near estuaries.Native lionfish can be found at depths greater than 75 m.Because lionfish can be cryptic and secretive, we estimate that only ~1/8 of Indo-Pacific lionfishes are detected during general underwater visual censuses.In the Pacific Ocean, the relative abundance of lionfish in the catch of reef-fish larvae is of the same order of magnitude as the relative abundance of adult lionfish within reef fish assemblages.Overall the observed densities of lionfishes in the Indo-Pacific are much lower (max.26.3 fish ha -1 ) than the densities reported in their invaded Atlantic range (max.400 fish ha -1 ).We found no effects of fishing or pollution on the densities of lionfishes.
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Lionfish densities at Little Cayman are far greater than the 26.3 fish ha-1 recorded in the native range.
“which is far greater than the 26.3 fish ha -1 recorded in the native range (Kulbicki et al., 2012).”
From Reproductive biology of invasive lionfish (Pterois spp.) (2015) · cites this paper as Kulbicki et al., 2012
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References 97 · Cited by 154
Research works printed but not linked: 9
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- Authors
- Kulbicki, M., Beets, J., Chabanet, P., Cure, K., Darling, E., Floeter, Sr., Galzin, R., Green, A., Harmelin-Vivien, M., Hixon, M., Letourneur, Y., de Loma, T., McClanahan, T., McIlwain, J., MouTham, G., Myers, R., O’Leary, J., Planes, S., Vigliola, L., & Wantiez, L.
- Affiliations
- Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls-sur-Mer (FR)
- University of New Caledonia (NC)
- Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l'Environnement (PF)
- Corresponding author
- Kulbicki, M
- ORCID
- Venue
- Marine Ecology Progress Series
- Publisher
- Inter-Research Science Center
- Published
- 2012-02-02
- Volume
- 446
- Pages
- 189-205
- ISSN
- 0171-8630 (ISSN-L)
- 1616-1599
- OpenAlex
- W2074108501
- Cited by
- 154
- References
- 97
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 9.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Marine Ecology Progress Series (publishedVersion)
- HAL Portal Artxiker (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (India)) (submittedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Institutional Archive of Ifremer (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea) (submittedVersion)
- eSpace (Curtin University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (0851162)
- Wildlife Conservation Society
- Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation
- Australian Institute of Marine Science
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
- European Commission
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Marine Ecology and Invasive Species
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Keywords
- Indo-Pacific lionfish, Pterois volitans, Pterois miles, invasive species, native range distribution, population density, latitudinal gradient, reef fish assemblages, reef fish larvae, cryptic species detection, coral reefs, soft bottoms, seagrass meadows, mangroves, estuaries, fishing effects, pollution effects
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