Biología y ecología del pez león (Pterois volitans) en el Parque Nacional Natural Corales de Profundidad, Caribe colombiano

Abstract

Lionfish was studied in the mesophotic environment. 237 specimens were observed, most in the upper mesophotic zone. Males were larger than females and differences between sexes in growth models were found. Sixteen prey items were identified, the most important being the teleost families Acanthuridae and Monacanthidae, and the crustacean Penaeidae. The mean of δ13C was -17.08 ± 0.36 ‰ and δ15N was 8.68 ± 0.46 ‰, with no differences between sexes. Lionfish occupies a less extensive isotopic niche in mesophotic environment than in shallow sectors; there is an isotopic niche overlap between sexes. Likewise, lionfish has specialized trophic habits. All specimens were mature and in females regression phase predominated. In females, condition factor (CF), gonadosomatic index (GSI) and hepatosomatic index (HSI) increased with gonadal development, reaching peak in the active spawning phase, and decreasing in regression. Males had a condition factor similar to spawning females, but IGS and IHS were lower

Benthic macrohabitat classification and Madracis spp. coral patch distribution in a deep-sea marine protected area of Colombia

“…Other groups associated with rocky areas are triggerfishes (Balistidae), damselfishes (Pomacentridae), angelfishes (Pomacanthidae), butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae), filefishes (Monacanthidae), surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae), and squirrel fishes (Holocentridae). Even at depths reaching 150 m, the presence of the invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans) associated with sponges or rock ledges was common (Henao-Castro et al, 2016;Chasqui-Velasco and Gonzaĺez, 2019;Sanjuan-Muñoz et al, 2022). Fish's distribution pattern is typical of mesophotic habitats with the presence of large predators targeted by fishermen and different groups of reef-associated fishes, as previously described for Puerto Rico (Garcıá-Sais et al, 2012;Bejarano et al, 2014).…”

Fauna diversity in Madracis spp. coral patches in the Colombian Caribbean

“…First documented in Florida reefs in 1985 (Schofield, 2009), in just a few years its populations expanded south throughout the Caribbean, with records in the Colombian Caribbean in 2009 (Gonzalez et al, 2009), and recent sightings in southern Brazil (Soares et al, 2023). Although lionfish are typically found in highest densities in shallow waters from 30 to 60 m depth (Andradi-Brown, 2019), recent studies have revealed that P. volitans has also moved into mesophotic environments in various regions of the Western Atlantic (Andradi-Brown, 2019;Luiz et al, 2021;Sanjuan-Muñoz et al, 2022), and it has even been observed in the upper bathyal zone (Gress et al, 2017). The remarkable adaptability of the lionfish to different habitats and diets has been key in their successful invasion (Cure et al, 2014), both geographically and bathymetrically.…”

Géneros de foraminíferos bentónicos en zonas mesofóticas superior y media del Parque Nacional Natural Corales de Profundidad y su potencial como bioindicadores de hábitats y cambios ambientales

“…Por otra parte, la localidad del Bajo Frijol (BF) comprende una montaña submarina entre 34 y 150 m de profundidad ubicada al sur occidente del bajo Calamarí (BC), con una longitud de 8,2 km y 1,4 km de ancho (Morales-Giraldo et al, 2017). En ella abundan formaciones de coral duro, rodolitos de algas calcáreas, macroalgas y esponjas aisladas, con una particular abundancia de peces (Alonso et al, 2015;Cedeño-Posso et al, 2015;Marrugo y Martínez, 2016;Sánchez et al, 2016;Chasqui-Velasco y González-Corredor, 2019;Sanjuán-Muñoz et al, 2022).…”

“…Un paso fundamental para el manejo de un área protegida es la caracterización de su riqueza específica. En tal medida, se ha reconocido que el PNNCPR alberga una valiosa cantidad de organismos, tales como los registrados por Reyes et al (2005), los peces reportados en trabajos como los de Henao-Castro et al (2019) y García (2021), el zooplancton descrito en Contreras-Vega et al ( 2021) y en Críales-Hernández et al (2021), entre otros grupos (Alonso et al, 2015;2021;Sanjuán-Muñoz et al, 2022).…”