RAPID: Lionfish invasion of the Mesoamerican reef: community invasibility and the evolutionary response of prey avoidance behavior to a novel predator

外来脊椎动物捕食者的入侵对本地群落的影响通常远远大于其他外来类群。它们还提供了独特的机会来了解捕食者-猎物相互作用的几个生态和进化方面。例如，如果一个人知道入侵迫在眉睫，入侵前的计划测量可以与入侵后的不同阶段进行比较，以观察一种新的捕食者在真实的时间内对生态和进化的影响。本研究的目的是回答两个基本问题：1）本地群落的哪些特征影响生物对外来捕食者殖民的抵抗力？2）猎物对新捕食者的进化反应是什么？研究人员将使用狮子鱼（Pterois volitans）对加勒比海盆地浅水架栖息地的持续入侵作为模型系统。狮子鱼是一种来自太平洋中部和西部的捕食者，1992年在佛罗里达附近首次被发现，并迅速蔓延到整个加勒比海。狮子鱼通过吞食幼鱼，似乎对珊瑚礁生态系统产生了负面影响。这项研究将主要在伯利兹的中美洲珊瑚礁进行。为了回答问题1，将在2009年初夏期间对伯利兹珊瑚礁带沿着的25个地点进行调查。在每个地点，监测员将量化可能影响入侵性的各种因素，包括鱼类密度、幼鱼丰度和组成、结构复杂性和底栖生物群落结构。然后，一旦狮子鱼在该地区的珊瑚礁上定居下来，他将对当地的存在进行调查。为了研究猎物对新捕食者的快速进化反应，他将使用原位视频监测和肠道内容物分析进行一系列测定，以测量狮子鱼在当地定居并长得足够大以消耗本地鱼类和甲壳类猎物后的猎物回避行为和捕食者功效。这些基线性能和行为数据，然后可以进行比较，将在巴哈马群岛和通过时间在伯利兹入侵后的分析。狮子鱼的区域范围内的入侵构成了最大的威胁，加勒比海珊瑚礁和大西洋硬底社区，因为海胆和珊瑚疾病爆发的1980年代。通过了解影响狮子鱼入侵新地点能力的因素，本研究具有直接的应用价值。一些工作将集中在红树林潮汐小溪，这是无数物种的重要苗圃栖息地。几名在校大学生将参加这项研究，并与伯利兹和巴哈马的非政府组织合作伙伴合作，提高对狮子鱼威胁的认识，并教育公众如何安全地捕捞和食用狮子鱼。

Invasions by exotic vertebrate predators can have striking effects on native communities that are typically far greater than those of other exotic taxa. They also provide unique opportunities to understand several ecological and evolutionary aspects of predator-prey interactions. For example, if one knew that an invasion was imminent, planned pre-invasion measurements could be compared to different post-invasion stages to watch the ecological and evolutionary impacts of a novel predator unfold in real time. The purpose of this investigation is to answer two fundamental questions: 1) What characteristics of native communities influence biotic resistance to colonization by exotic predators? and 2) What are the evolutionary responses of prey to novel predators? The investigator willl use the ongoing invasion of shallow-shelf habitats in the Caribbean basin by lionfish (Pterois volitans) as a model system. Lionfish, a predator from the central and western Pacific ocean, were first sighted in 1992 off Florida and have been spreading rapidly throughout the Caribbean. By consuming young reef fish, lionfish appear to negatively affect coral reef ecosystems. This research will primarily take place on the Mesoamerican reef in Belize. To answer question 1 25 sites along the Belizean reef tract will be surveyed during early summer 2009. At each site the investigtor will quantify a variety of factors that could potentially influence invasibility including fish density, juvenile abundance and composition, structural complexity and benthic community structure. He will then perform surveys for local presence once lionfish have become established on reefs in this region. To investigate rapid evolutionary responses of prey to novel predators, he will perform a series of assays using in situ video monitoring and gut content analyses to measure prey avoidance behavior and predator efficacy immediately after lionfish colonize local sites and grow large enough to consume native fish and crustacean prey. These baseline performance and behavior data can then be compared to post-invasion assays that will be performed in the Bahamas and through time in Belize.The region-wide invasion by lionfish poses the greatest threat to Caribbean reefs and Atlantic hard bottom communities since the urchin and coral disease outbreaks of the 1980s. By understanding the factors that influence the ability of lionfish to invade a new site, this work has direct, applied value. Some of the work will be focused on mangrove tidal creeks, which are critical nursery habitats for countless species. Several UNC undergraduate students will participate in this research and collaboration with NGO partners in Belize and the Bahamas will promote awareness of the lionfish threat and educate the public on how to safely catch and consume them.