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

太平洋红狮子鱼（Pterois volitans）是一种受欢迎的水族馆鱼类，于世纪末被引入佛罗里达附近的大西洋。贪婪地消耗小型本地珊瑚礁鱼类，包括渔业和生态重要物种的幼鱼，入侵者经历了人口爆炸，现在从美国东南沿海到墨西哥湾和整个大加勒比地区。PI过去的研究确定，入侵的狮子鱼（1）在太平洋逃脱了它们的天敌（狮子鱼在其原生范围内的数量要少得多）;（2）尚未受到大西洋捕食者，竞争对手或寄生虫的控制;（3）对原生大西洋鱼类的种群有强烈的负面影响;（4）在当地减少原生鱼类的多样性（物种数量）。狮子鱼的入侵已被公认为全球主要的保护威胁之一。 巴哈马是全球入侵狮子鱼丰度最高的国家。因此，这一系统提供了一个前所未有的机会，了解一个主要的入侵者对一个多样化的社区的直接和间接影响，以及潜在的致病机制。PI将集中在五个相关的问题：（1）狮子鱼的长期捕食如何改变本地珊瑚礁鱼类群落的结构？ (2)狮子鱼捕食是如何破坏本地猎物种群动态的，可能导致当地的灭绝？ (3)在被入侵的珊瑚礁上有狮子鱼-草食动物-海藻的营养级联吗？(4)狮子鱼如何修改入侵珊瑚礁的清洁互惠关系？(5)狮子鱼的密度是否达到了明显的自然种群极限？ 该研究将资助4名NSF研究生研究员的博士研究，并将涉及各种各样的本科生和珊瑚礁/渔业管理人员的参与。

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.