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
References
- [1] E.T. Schultz, “Pterois volitans and Pterois miles: two valid species,” Copeia, vol. 1986, no: 3, pp. 686–690, 1986.
- [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] 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] R. Froese, and D. Pauly. (03/2017). FishBase. [World Wide Web electronic publication]. Available http://www.fishbase.org.
- [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] 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] 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] 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] 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] 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.