Fisheries Presentation Library
The Critical Thermal Maximum of Lionfish (Pterois volitans)
ABSTRACT:
Students: Christer Aikens, Chelsey Frost, May Henderson, Sami Kreisler, Eddie Lopez, Nate Maynard , Dana White. Advisors: Krista Sherman and Christina Elmore. Lionfish are a venomous, predatory species endemic to the Indo-pacific. Lionfish were introduced to the Atlantic Ocean in 1992 during Hurricane Andrew by the aquarium trade as an ornamental reef fish (Whitfield et al. 2002). Lionfish abundance has increased from their introduction to the Atlantic due to lack of natural predators and an exponential reproduction rate. As an invasive species, lionfish pose the potential threats of reducing biodiversity and recruitment of ecosystems (Albins and Hixon 2008). Previous thermal tolerance studies on P. volitans indicate that they experience a mean chronic lethal minimum temperature at 10°C and cease feeding at 16.1°C (Kimball et al. 2004). Therefore, temperature restricts the northern distribution of P. volitans but not its southern distribution. TThe purpose of our study was to determine the critical thermal maximum of lionfish relative to their body size.
Category Listings: The Island School
Keywords: lionfish, thermal maximum, invasive species
Year: 2009
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