How do lionfish affect the ecosystems they invade?
How do lionfish affect the ecosystems they invade?
Learn how venomous lionfish species rapidly spread their geographic ranges in the early 21st century, disrupting the balance of ecosystems in the process.
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Transcript
Lionfish are flashy and venomous – and may be invading a body of water near you.
Lionfish (Pterois) are any of several species of showy Indo-Pacific fishes of the scorpion fish family.
Lionfish have venomous fin spines, which are capable of producing painful, though rarely fatal, puncture wounds.
Red lionfish (P. volitans) have a rapid rate of reproduction and no natural enemies; they decimate local fishes in the coral reefs they invade.
By the early 21st century red lionfish had invaded reef ecosystems along the Easter Seaboard of the United States, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean Sea.
Devil firefish (P. miles) were spotted along the coast of Cyprus in the Mediterranean in 2016; recent sea-surface warming attracted the species to the region.
It likely entered the basin from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, which was recently deepened and expanded.
Wildlife managers and ecologists worry that without improved barriers and capture methods in the canal, more lionfish will invade the Mediterranean.
Lionfish (Pterois) are any of several species of showy Indo-Pacific fishes of the scorpion fish family.
Lionfish have venomous fin spines, which are capable of producing painful, though rarely fatal, puncture wounds.
Red lionfish (P. volitans) have a rapid rate of reproduction and no natural enemies; they decimate local fishes in the coral reefs they invade.
By the early 21st century red lionfish had invaded reef ecosystems along the Easter Seaboard of the United States, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean Sea.
Devil firefish (P. miles) were spotted along the coast of Cyprus in the Mediterranean in 2016; recent sea-surface warming attracted the species to the region.
It likely entered the basin from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, which was recently deepened and expanded.
Wildlife managers and ecologists worry that without improved barriers and capture methods in the canal, more lionfish will invade the Mediterranean.