New occurrence of the red lionfish Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758) in the north eastern Mediterranean (Yeşilovacık Bay)

Abstract

This paper presents the new occurence of the the red lionfish (Pterois volitans Linnaeus 1758). The lessepsian red lionfish Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758) (Actinoptery: Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae), in the native Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, living alone on the hillside and around the coral reefs and rocky bottom layers, usually at depths of 0-50 m, is an invasive species for the Mediterranean. A male specimen of the red lionfish was caught alive by a commercial trawl fishing boat in the North-Eastern Mediterranean (Yeşilovacık Bay) (36°07'32.5"N 33°36'31.6"E) on 26 March 2017. This is the third record of P. volitans from the Mediterranean Sea basin. The present short communication reported the first record of P. volitans from Yeşilovacık Bay. 

Keywords

• Red Lionfish,Pterois volitans,Yeşilovacık Bay

Kırmızı Aslan Balığı Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758)’ın Kuzeydoğu Akdeniz’deki Yeni Kaydı

Abstract

This paper presents the new occurence of the the red lionfish (Pterois volitans Linnaeus 1758). The lessepsian red lionfish Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758) (Actinoptery: Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae), in the native Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, living alone on the hillside and around the coral reefs and rocky bottom layers, usually at depths of 0-50 m, is an invasive species for the Mediterranean. A male specimen of the red lionfish was caught alive by a commercial trawl fishing boat in the North-Eastern Mediterranean (Yeşilovacık Bay) (36°07'32.5"N 33°36'31.6"E) on 26 March 2017. This is the third record of P. volitans from the Mediterranean Sea basin. The present short communication reported the first record of P. volitans from Yeşilovacık Bay. 

Keywords

• Red Lionfish,Pterois volitans,Yeşilovacık Bay

References

1. [1] E.T. Schultz, “Pterois volitans and Pterois miles: two valid species,” Copeia, vol. 1986, no: 3, pp. 686–690, 1986.
2. [2] P.E. Whitfield, T. Gamer, S.P. Viues, M.R. Gilligan, W.R. Courtenay, G.C. Ray and J.A. Hare, “Biological invasion of the Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitans along the Atlantic coast of North America,” Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 235, pp. 289–297, 2002.
3. [3] M.E. Kimball, J.M. Miller, P.E. Whitfield, P.E. and J.A. Hare, “Thermal tolerance and potential distribution of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles complex) on the east coast of the United States,” Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 283, pp. 269-278, 2004.
4. [4] R. Froese, and D. Pauly. (03/2017). FishBase. [World Wide Web electronic publication]. Available http://www.fishbase.org.
5. [5] D.S. Wilcove, D. Rothstein, J. Dubow, A. Phillips, E. Losos, “Quantifying threats to imperiled species in the United States”, BioScience, vol. 48, pp. 607–615, 1998.
6. [6] F. Courchamp, J.L. Chapuis, and M. Pascal, “Mammal invaders on islands: impact, control and control impact”, Biological Reviews, vol.78, pp. 347- 383, 2003.
7. [7] P.E. Whitfield, T. Gardner, S.P. Vives, M.R. Gilligan, W.R. Courtenay, G.C. Ray and J.A. Hare, “Biological invasion of the Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitans along the Atlantic coast of North America”, Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 235, pp. 289–297, 2002.
8. [8] R.N. Mack, D. Simberloff, W.M. Lonsdale, H. Evans, M. Clout, F.A. Bazzaz, “Biotic invasions: causes, epidemiology, global consequences, and control”, Ecol. Appl., vol. 10, pp. 689–710, 2000.

9. [9] A. Zenetos, E. Ballesteros and M. Verlaque , “Alien species in the Mediterranean Sea by 2012. A contribution to the application of European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)”, Part 2., Introduction trends and pathways., Mediterr Mar Sci., vol. 13, pp. 328–352, 2012.
10. [10] M.A. Albins and M.A. Hixon, “Worst case scenario: potential long-term effects of invasive predatory lionfish (Pterois volitans) on Atlantic and Caribbean coral-reef communities”, Environ. Biol. Fish, vol. 96, pp. 1151–1157, 2013.
11. [11] W.R. Courtenay, “Marine fish introductions in southeastern Florida”, American Fisheries Society Introduced Fish Section Newsletter, vol. 1995, pp. 2–3, 1995.
12. [13] M. Gurlek, D. Erguden, S.A. Dogdu, A. Uyan and C. Turan, “First record red lionfish, Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1785) in the Mediterranean Sea,” Natural and Engineering Sciences, vol. 1 no:3, pp. 27-32, 2016.
13. [14] M. Gökoğlu, S. Teker and D. Julian, “Westward Extension of the Lionfish Pterois volitans Linnaeus, 1758 along the Mediterranean Coast of Turkey,” Natural and Engineering Sciences, vol. 2 no:2, pp. 67-72, 2017.
14. [15] M.A. Albins and M.A. Hixon, “Invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitans reduce recruitment of Atlantic coral-reef fishes”, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., vol. 367, pp. 233–238, 2008.
15. [16] C. Mellina, M. Lurgia, S. Matthews, M.A. MacNeila, M.J. Caley, N. Bax, R. Przeslawski and D.A. Fordham, “Forecasting marine invasions under climate change: Biotic interactions and demographic processes matter”, Biological Conservation, vol. 204, p. B, pp. 459-467, 2016.
16. [17] M.A. Albins, “Effects of invasive Pacific red lionfish Pterois volitans versus a native predator on Bahamian coral-reef communities”, Biol. Invasions, vol. 15, pp. 29–43, 2013.
17. [18] J.A. Morris, P.E. Whitfield, “Biology, ecology, control and management of the invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish: an updated integrated assessment”, NOAA Tech Memo NOS NCCOS, vol. 99, pp. 1–57, 2009.
18. [19] C. Turan, N. Uygur and M. İğde, “Lionfishes Pterois miles and Pterois volitans in the North-eastern Mediterranean Sea: Distribution, Habitation, Predation and Predators,” Natural and Engineering Sciences, vol. 2 no:1, pp. 35-43, 2017.
19. [20] P.J. Schofield, M.E. Brown, “Invasive Species: Ocean Ecosystem Case Studies for Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences”, Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences, 2016. [21] P.J. Schofield, “Update on geographic spread of invasive lionfishes (Pterois volitans [Linnaeus 1758] and P. miles [Bennett 1828]) in the Western North Atlantic Ocean”, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Aquat. Invasions, vol. 5 (Suppl. 1), pp.117–122, 2010. [22] B.I. Ruttenberg, P.J. Schofield, L.J. Akins, A. Acosta, M.W. Feeley, J. Blondeau, S.G. Smith and J.S. Ault, “Rapid invasion of Indo-Pacific lionfishes (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles) in the Florida Keys, USA: evidence from multiple preand post-invasion data sets”, Bull. Mar. Sci., vol. 88, p. 4, pp. 1051–1059, 2012. [23] M.A. Albins, P.J. Lyons, “Invasive red lionfish Pterois volitans blow directed jets of water at prey fish”, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., vol. 448, pp. 1–5, 2012.
20. [24] C.M. Balboa, “The consumption of marine ornamental fish in the United States: a description from the U.S. import data”, In: J.C. Cato, and C.L. Brown, (Eds.), Marine Ornamental Species. Collection, Culture and Conservation , Iowa State Press, Ames, Iowa, pp. 65–76, 2003.
21. [25] M.J. Wonham, J.T. Carlton, G.M. Ruiz and L.D. Smith, “Fish and ships: relating dispersal frequency to success in biological invasions”, Mar. Biol., vol. 136, p. 6, pp. 1111–1121, 2000.
22. [26] D. Kletou, J.M. Hall-Spencer and P. Kleitou, “A lionfish (Pterois miles) invasion has begun in the Mediterranean Sea”, Marine Biodiversity Records, vol. 9, pp. 46, 2016.
23. [27] M.A. Schlaepfer, P.W. Sherman, B. Blossey and M.C. Runge. “Introduced species as evolutionary traps”, Ecology Letters, vol. 8, pp. 241-246, 2005.
24. [28] G.R. Allen and W.N. Eschmeyer, “Turkey fishes at Eniwetok”, Pac Discovery, vol. 26, pp. 3–11, 1973.
25. [29] A. Maljkovi´c, T.E. Van Leeuwen and S.N. Cove, “Predation on the invasive red lionfish, Pterois volitans (Pisces: Scorpaenidae), by native groupers in the Bahamas”, Coral Reefs. doi:10.1007/s00338–008–0372–9, 2008.