Ryan Krest

Suzanne Dunlevy
MWF: 1:00-1:50

Environments are very balanced and delicate. It does not take much to misbalance the

equation and ruin the lives of many species. That is why the introduction of an invasive species

can be a catastrophe to an environment. An invasive species is defined as a non-native to an

ecosystem under consideration and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic,

environmental, or harm to human health. Unfortunately, this is happening right under the United

States nose with the recent emergence of the lionfish. Lionfish are characterized by apparent

brown, maroon, and white stripes that cause the fish to look like a lion. The fish also has 18

venomous spines that can pack a punch ,but are non-lethal to humans. The natural habitat of the

fish is in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean. More specifically, warm tropic waters typically

found in depths of 1-300 feet. Lionfish were introduced to the U.S. approximately 25 years ago.

Although the cause of how they were first transported here is unknown, there are many theories

on how they’ve gotten to our waters. The leading theory is that people have released lionfish

from their home aquariums into the ocean. The lionfish is an exotic and aesthetic fish that is very

popular among home aquariums. Another cause of how lionfish were introduced dates back to

1985. In 1985 hurricane Andrew struck the coast of the U.S. It is believed that six lionfish were

accidentally released into the Atlantic. That is a very minute number, but a single female can

produce up to two million eggs per year. If three of the fish released were females then there is a

large possibility that their population spiked from this incident. There are three main effects of

the invasive Lionfish. The effects are as follows: The hindering of fisheries, the overall health of

coral reefs are damaged, and lastly the population of lionfish goes unchecked.

First, a major effect of lionfish is the hindering of commercial fisheries and recreational

fishing. The impact of the fish is not only just environmentally but economically as well. The
Ryan Krest
Suzanne Dunlevy
MWF: 1:00-1:50
lionfish that have been introduced into the Atlantic have been feeding on the prey of other key

commercial fish. For example, the two main fish affected are the groupers and snappers. The

lionfish outcompetes the others and shortens the food supply for the fish. The dwindling food

supply causes a portion of the snappers and groupers to go hungry. Thus, lowering the overall

population of these important commercial fish. The lower populations of the commercial fish

then creates smaller overall hauls that are taken to be sold. This causes a negative economic

impact on the fishery because they have a significantly lower amount of product to sell. An

industry that has no product will no doubtingly shut down in the long run.

Secondly, a major effect of lionfish is the damaging of coral reefs. Coral reefs give refuge

to about 5,000 different marine species. The importance of coral reefs to the environment cannot

be stressed enough. The reef is a lifeline for our underwater ecosystems and has the ability to

indicate how healthy the Earth is. Lionfish invading the coral reefs can decrease the recruitment

of native fish by up to 79 percent. That is a significant number of fish that are beneficial to the

health of coral reefs that are turned away. These organisms have the ability to help balance the

ecosystem by consuming the algae on the reefs. Furthermore, lionfish prey on these algae eating

organisms. The absence of dietary algae fish lets the growth of this plant go unchecked. This

then leads to an abundant amount of algae that suffocates the coral reef. The plant chokes the

reef by covering the entirety of the coral and consuming all of the oxygen. The plant practically

cuts off the reefs oxygen tubes. The destruction of coral reefs leads to the displacement of

thousands of species causing food shortages.

Third, the population of Lionfish goes unchecked. This is because lionfish do not have a

natural predator in the Atlantic ocean, meaning that there is no enforcing hand on these fish.

Scientists have resorted to teach sharks to eat lionfish. The technique simply consists of divers
Ryan Krest
Suzanne Dunlevy
MWF: 1:00-1:50
spearing the fish and waiving them in front of the shark until it consumes the fish. Sharks are

actually a natural predator of lionfish in the Pacific. Since lionfish are non-native to the Atlantic,

sharks do not recognize them as food. A booming and fruitful population of the Lionfish

imposes a major problem on its environment. It allows for its impacts to be endless while having

an absence of a limiting factor. The fish are able to reproduce within a year of being born.

Furthermore, once the female lionfish is fertile it has the ability to produce 2 million eggs per

year. All of these factors allow for an astonishing population growth rate of 67 percent per year.

In some locations lionfish were recorded to be at 1,000 per acre. The population has become so

dense that it is highly encouraged to recreationally hunt the fish. Florida has actually amended

their fishing regulations so that Lionfish are captured more often. For example, there is no bag

limit on how many lionfish can be captured at a time.

In conclusion, an invasive species has the capability to destroy an entire habitat. The

effects of the lionfish can be greatly noticed in what has been such a short time period. The

lionfish population has gotten so dense that there is no possible way to completely eradicate the

species from the surrounding areas. Even though the waters have reached a point of no return,

environmentalists have developed a few potential remedies. Potential remedies to dwindle the

lionfish population are hunting, catch and eat, training sharks, and even a robotic zapper. The

problem of Lionfish in our marine ecosystems must be addressed immediately by improving the

general education on lionfish. If the problem is not addressed, Atlantic coral reefs will slowly

die, species of fish such as the grouper and snappers populations will plummet, and commercial

fisheries will fail.

Ryan Krest
Suzanne Dunlevy
MWF: 1:00-1:50
Works cited

Albins, Mark A. "Effects of invasive Pacific red lionfish Pterois volitans versus a native predator

on Bahamian coral-reef fish communities." Biological Invasions 15.1 (2013): 29-43.

Albins, Mark A., and Mark A. Hixon. "Invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitans reduce

recruitment of Atlantic coral-reef fishes." Marine Ecology Progress Series 367 (2008):

233-238.

Hare, Jonathan A., and Paula E. Whitfield. “ An integrated assessment of the introduction of

lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles complex) to the Western Atlantic Ocean.” (2003).

NOAA Fisheries. “Impacts of invasive lionfish.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Association. (2018)

Schult, Rachel F., et al. "A Case of Lionfish Envenomation Presenting to an Inland Emergency

Department." Case Reports in Emergency Medicine 2017 (2017).

Whitfield, Paula E., et al. "Biological invasion of the Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitans along

the Atlantic coast of North America." Marine Ecology Progress Series 235 (2002): 289-

297.