Mechanisms and Consequences of Fish Biodiversity Loss on Atlantic Coral Reefs Caused by Invasive Pacific Lionfish

太平洋红狮鱼(Pterois Volitans)是一种受欢迎的水族鱼，于20世纪末被引入佛罗里达州附近的大西洋。这种入侵者贪婪地吞食当地的小型珊瑚礁鱼类，包括渔业幼体和具有生态重要性的物种，现在从美国东南沿海到墨西哥湾和整个大加勒比海地区都经历了种群爆炸。国际狮子鱼协会过去的研究确定，入侵的狮子鱼(1)已经逃离了它们在太平洋的天敌(狮子鱼在其本土范围内要少得多)；(2)尚未被大西洋捕食者、竞争对手或寄生虫控制；(3)对本土大西洋鱼类的种群有强烈的负面影响；以及(4)当地减少本土鱼类的多样性(物种数量)。狮子鱼入侵已被公认为世界范围内的主要保护威胁之一。巴哈马是全球入侵狮子鱼数量最多的国家。因此，这一系统提供了一个前所未有的机会来了解主要入侵者对不同社区的直接和间接影响，以及潜在的致病机制。PI将关注五个相关问题：(1)狮子鱼的长期捕食如何改变本地珊瑚鱼群落的结构？(2)狮子鱼捕食如何破坏本地猎物种群动态的稳定，可能导致局部灭绝？(3)在入侵的珊瑚礁上是否存在狮子鱼-草食-海藻营养瀑布？(4)狮子鱼如何改变入侵珊瑚礁上的清洁互惠关系？(5)狮子鱼的密度是否达到了明显的自然种群限制？这项研究将资助4名NSF研究生研究员的博士研究，并将有各种各样的本科生和珊瑚礁/渔业管理人员参与。

The Pacific red lionfish (Pterois volitans), a popular aquarium fish, was introduced to the Atlantic Ocean in the vicinity of Florida in the late 20th century. Voraciously consuming small native coral-reef fishes, including the juveniles of fisheries and ecologically important species, the invader has undergone a population explosion that now ranges from the U.S. southeastern seaboard to the Gulf of Mexico and across the greater Caribbean region. The PI's past research determined that invasive lionfish (1) have escaped their natural enemies in the Pacific (lionfish are much less abundant in their native range); (2) are not yet controlled by Atlantic predators, competitors, or parasites; (3) have strong negative effects on populations of native Atlantic fishes; and (4) locally reduce the diversity (number of species) of native fishes. The lionfish invasion has been recognized as one of the major conservation threats worldwide. The Bahamas support the highest abundances of invasive lionfish globally. This system thus provides an unprecedented opportunity to understand the direct and indirect effects of a major invader on a diverse community, as well as the underlying causative mechanisms. The PI will focus on five related questions: (1) How does long-term predation by lionfish alter the structure of native reef-fish communities? (2) How does lionfish predation destabilize native prey population dynamics, possibly causing local extinctions? (3) Is there a lionfish-herbivore-seaweed trophic cascade on invaded reefs? (4) How do lionfish modify cleaning mutualisms on invaded reefs? (5) Are lionfish reaching densities where natural population limits are evident? The study will fund the PhD research of 4 NSF Graduate Research Fellows, and will involve participation by a broad variety of undergraduates and reef/fisheries managers.