Lion Fish

We live in an ecosystem that is extraordinarily fragile, and the slightest thing may throw it off causing devastating effects. Over the course of the past decade, the lionfish, a species not originally native to the western Atlantic and the Caribbean waters, has caused tremendous concern regarding the ecosystem in those areas. The lionfish was originally spotted of the Bahamas in 2004, but since then has multiplied extremely rapidly . There is no definitive proof, but it is believed that lionfish ended up inn these waters because of humans. Scientists believe over the course of a 25-year period, people were dumping unwanted fish from their aquariums into the ocean, causing the reproduction of the species. Since the lionfish are not native to these waters, they have very few predators, making it
nearly impossible to kill off the species.

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Based on the outcomes of small-scale experiments that were conducted, concern has arisen regarding the structure of marine ecosystems in the Atlantic. The tests compared the biomass of fish with other years, and they did so while fish were nesting so there would be a randomized variable. The scientist calculated percent change from 2008-2010 for each test site, and then they calculated the mean system change in population. This process was replicated 500 times in order to replicate a more accurate representation of what is going on in a larger scale in the ocean. The study found reef fish in the 567 lionfish that were captured and euthanized to discover what they had consumed.The results have shown that with the increase in lionfish population, the population of native reef species has declined rapidly. There are outlying factors that may also contribute to the decline in reef fish population such as:, “recruitment failure, increased predation by native species, or disease”. These outlying factors cannot be overlooked although many theories point to the lionfish for being the cause of the decline.

With no predators except humans, experts lionfishbelieve this single species alone can wipe out 90% of a reef. Graham Maddocks, president and founder of Ocean Support Foundation said, “The lionfish invasion is probably the worst environmental disaster the Atlantic will ever face”. It is too early to call it the biggest epidemic the Atlantic will ever face, but if things do not improve it will certainty become increasingly likely. They can produce 30-40 thousand eggs every few days. At those rates it will become a problem that humans cannot fix, but instead one only we can maintain.

 

 

 

(1)http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/lionfish.html

(2)http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0032596

(3) http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/18/tech/innovation/lionfish-infestation-atlantic-linendoll/

(4) (top image) http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2013/07/img_1339-600×290.jpg

(5) (bottom image) http://www.saintpetersblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/lionfish.jpg

 

3 thoughts on “Lion Fish

  1. Eric Horowitz

    This post was fascinating, showing that the introduction of something that people would consider as insignificant as a fish can cause such an impact. This is why us as people need to understand that every little action we do has a effect that leads to something influential. I question the fact that lion fish could have slowly started to migrate over from other oceans based on the predators being such a great factor. Why do we instinctively blame humans when something bad happening to the ecosystem? Perhaps it was just a matter of time before the lion fish eventually came over and done the same thing. It was stated in the article that Florida state owners released their fish. Now this contributed to the problem but eventually just based on the natural instincts of animals they would eventually come over to the reef just humans speed up the process. The main point I am trying to get across is that we tend to blame everything on humans for destroying things when in reality all humans do is accelerate the planet doing it to itself. So yes i agree we could fix this situation by eating the fish. Also we can consider the possibility that introducing this fish maybe has it’s benefits as well.

  2. Hunter Alexander Mycek

    What a crazy looking fish!!! It’s sad that human continue to introduce invasive species to new ecosystems.
    Perhaps you could explore what natural predators the lionfish has in its natural habitat. A quick google search directed me to this website http://lionfish.co/lionfish-faq/ and they seem to have some natural predators listed. I wonder if maybe introducing one of these predators to the Atlantic and Caribbean Oceans would help with the lionfish problem. Of course there is always a risk that introducing another species could create more issues. Overall, I think you did a really good job introducing the lionfish issue with your blog. However, be careful in your second paragraph because I think you may have had a typo or two and a few of the sentences are hard to understand as a result.

    Interesting post!

  3. Julie Ramioulle

    Very interesting perspective on the role of a species in our ecosystem, one that I was actually just thinking about writing a blog post about myself! Awareness about endangered species grows more and more everyday, ends up leaving out other factors, such as the species you researched. I found that from the studies you’ve discussed, the lionfish fits the category of an “invasive species”. The United States Department of Agriculture describes an invasive species to “thrive and spread aggressively outside its native range”. A variety of animals, plants, and microbes that have been associated with the same concern that the lionfish carries. I noted that you said we can only maintain these species from evolving/spreading, is there nothing more we could do? In terms of management I found cases of prevention, early detection/responses, control, and restoration, such as this positive response towards the control of non-native ambrosia beetles. Would these methods prove to be most successful in the long run once applied to other species?

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