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可以对当地群落产生惊人的影响，这种影响通常比其他外来类群的影响要大得多。它们还为理解捕食者-猎物相互作用的几个生态和进化方面提供了独特的机会。例如，如果一个人知道入侵迫在眉睫，就可以将入侵前的计划测量与入侵后的不同阶段进行比较，以实时观察新型捕食者的生态和进化影响。这项调查的目的是回答两个基本问题：1)当地群落的哪些特征影响着对外来捕食者殖民的生物抵抗？2)猎物对新型捕食者的进化反应是什么？调查员将以狮子鱼(Pterois Volitans)对加勒比海盆地浅水架栖息地的持续入侵为模式系统。狮子鱼是一种来自太平洋中部和西部的捕食者，于1992年在佛罗里达州附近首次被发现，并一直在加勒比海迅速传播。通过食用幼鱼，狮子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上进行。为了回答问题1，将在2009年初夏对伯利兹礁区沿线的25个地点进行调查。在每个地点，调查员将量化各种可能影响入侵能力的因素，包括鱼类密度、幼鱼丰度和组成、结构复杂性和海底群落结构。一旦狮子鱼在该地区的珊瑚礁上站稳脚跟，他将对当地的存在情况进行调查。为了研究猎物对新型捕食者的快速进化反应，他将使用现场视频监控和肠道内容物分析进行一系列分析，以测量狮子鱼在当地定居并长大到足以吞食本地鱼类和甲壳类猎物后立即的躲避猎物行为和捕食者的效能。然后，可以将这些基线性能和行为数据与将在巴哈马和伯利兹进行的入侵后分析进行比较。狮子鱼的区域入侵对加勒比海珊瑚礁和大西洋硬底群落构成了自20世纪80年代海胆和珊瑚疾病爆发以来最大的威胁。通过了解影响狮子鱼入侵新地点能力的因素，这项工作具有直接的应用价值。一些工作将集中在红树林潮汐小溪上，这是无数物种的关键苗圃栖息地。北卡罗来纳大学的几名本科生将参与这项研究，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获和食用狮子鱼。

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.