Low Pufferfish and Lionfish Predation in Their Native and Invaded Ranges Suggests Human Control Mechanisms May Be Necessary to Control Their Mediterranean Abundances

Ulman, Aylin; Harris, Holden E.; Doumpas, Nikolaos; Akbora, Hasan Deniz; Mabruk, Sara Al; Azzurro, Ernesto; Bariche, Michel; Çiçek, Burak Ali; Deidun, Alan; Demirel, Nazlı; Fogg, Alexander Q.; Katsavenakis, Stelios; Kletou, Demetris; Kleitou, Periklis; Papadopoulou, Athina; Souissi, Jamila Ben; Hall‐Spencer, Jason M.; Tiralongo, Francesco; Yıldız, Taner

doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.670413

Cited by 23 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 121 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In Lagocephalus sceleratus's 18-year presence in the Mediterranean, only loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) have been documented preying on adult L. sceleratus, while garfish (Belone belone), common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus), and cannibalism has been documented in juveniles (Ulman et al 2021). Potential common predators require large throats which can accommodate a puffed up fish, which is the case in loggerhead turtles, and also in predators of Lagocephalus inermis from India, which included cobia (Rachycentron canadum), and catfish (Arius spp.)…”

Section: Strong Defenses Against Predationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to stretchable skin and a distensible stomach, pufferfish lack pleural ribs and pelvis which would be impediments to 'puffing' (Amores et al 2004). It has been demonstrated that some predators perished due to the puffing of ingested pufferfish, notably a lemon shark due to blocked gills resulting in asphyxiation (Ulman et al 2021). Their second major deterrent to potential predators are high levels of tetrodotoxin neurotoxin throughout the body.…”

Section: Puffingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The biology and ecology of the invasive silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus), with emphasis on the Eastern Mediterranean

Ulman¹,

Yıldız²,

Demirel³

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Invasive species pose threats to either human health or inflict ecological and/or economic damage. The silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus), a Lessepsian species, is one of the most harmful species in the Mediterranean Sea, because of its potent neurotoxin, impacts on marine biodiversity, and the increased costs and labor they inflict on fishers. Since the catch and consumption of this pufferfish is prohibited by almost all countries bordering the Mediterranean, they have now expanded into the entire Mediterranean and Black Sea. We performed a comprehensive study of L. sceleratus covering ecological aspects, growth, reproduction, diet and trophic level based on samples from southwestern coasts of Turkey. The estimated growth parameters were L∞ = 88.7 cm, K = 0.27 year-1, C = 0.6 and WP = 0.1. Their sex-ratio was M/F = 1:0.69. Lagocephalus sceleratus appears to be a batch spawner with discontinuous oocyte recruitment and has different spawning seasons in the Eastern Mediterranean which seem to be based on temperature cues which get shorter in duration as one moves north from the Suez. We also report their first positive ecological trait, that they are controlling some other invasive species through their diets, such as lionfish, Red Sea goatfish, rabbitfish and longspine sea urchins, in addition to controlling themselves through cannibalism, which appears to be density-dependent. They are indeed a top predator in the region with a trophic level of 4.1. We suggest that targeted fishing using improved gear-types to reduce fishing gear damages are initiated, and that finding commercial markets for pufferfish could help to naturally fund ongoing control efforts.

show abstract

Section: Strong Defenses Against Predationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Puffingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The biology and ecology of the invasive silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus), with emphasis on the Eastern Mediterranean

Ulman¹,

Yıldız²,

Demirel³

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Detections by citizen scientists are facilitating the monitoring of the lionfish invasion currently underway in the Mediterranean Sea [3,67,68]. In comparison to the Western Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea is considered a hotspot for marine invasions due to the high level of shipping traffic and non-native species entering the sea via the Suez Canal [69].…”

Section: Impact and Importancementioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Citizen Science in the Research and Management of Invasive Lionfish across the Western Atlantic

Clements

Karp²,

Harris

et al. 2021

Diversity

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Managing invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles) in the Western Atlantic Ocean is beyond the capacity of natural resource organizations alone. In response, organizations have mobilized members of the public and citizen scientists to help. We used a structured survey to assess the activities and perceptions of 71 organizations that engage the public and citizen scientists in lionfish research and management throughout the invaded range of the Western Atlantic. Five case studies were also conducted that exemplified varied and multi-pronged approaches to engagement of the public and citizen scientists in lionfish control, monitoring, and knowledge-sharing. The public has been engaged to some extent in every approach, but organizations most frequently indicated engaging members of the public in raising awareness, promoting consumption, organized culling/removal, tournaments, and data collection. Sixty-five percent of organizations surveyed engaged the public in data collection, and data collection was ranked as the scientific research activity in which the public is most often involved. Most organizations indicated their data has contributed to scientific publications, management, and government agency research and/or policy. Collectively these findings demonstrate the conservation value of citizen scientists to assist organizational efforts to control, manage, and study a large-scale marine invasion.

show abstract

“…Their expansion, establishment, and densities have been facilitated by their broad diet (Dahl and Patterson, 2014;Peake et al, 2018), foraging techniques novel to naïve prey (Albins and Lyons, 2012;Akins et al, 2014;Green et al, 2019), a relative lack of biotic resistance to their establishment (Valdivia et al, 2014); and an opportunistic life history strategy (Fogg et al, 2017). Lionfish are also defended against predators by venomous spines and have few natural predators (Ulman et al, 2021), and natural control of lionfish appears limited due to resistance to parasites (Sikkel et al, 2014;Fogg et al, 2016;Tuttle et al, 2017;but see Harris et al, 2018;Harris et al, 2020a). Within their invaded range, lionfish have reached densities up to ten times that of their native range and this has caused demonstrable negative impacts on native species and ecological processes (Cotéand Smith, 2018;Savva et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons From the Western Atlantic Lionfish Invasion to Inform Management in the Mediterranean

Ulman¹,

Ali

Harris

et al. 2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Major invasions of Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles) are underway in the Western Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. While the establishment of lionfish in the Western Atlantic is perhaps the most well-studied marine fish invasion to date, the rapidly expanding invasion in the Mediterranean is more recent and has received less attention. Here we review and synthesize successes and failures from two decades of lionfish management in the Western Atlantic to give policy recommendations for their management in the Mediterranean. Two failed approaches that were attempted multiple times in the Western Atlantic and that we advise against are (1) feeding lionfish to native fish to promote predation and (2) implementing bounty programs to incentivize lionfish harvest. Broadly, the most important management lessons that we recommend include (1) conducting routine removals by spearfishing with scuba, which can effectively suppress local abundances of lionfish; (2) encouraging the development of recreational and commercial lionfish fisheries, which can promote long-term, sustainable lionfish population control; and, (3) engaging local communities and resource users (e.g., with lionfish removal tournaments), which can concurrently achieve multiple objectives of promoting lionfish removals, market-development, research, and public education. Managers in the Western Atlantic often needed to adapt current conservation policies to enable lionfish removals in areas where spearfishing with scuba was otherwise prohibited for conservation purposes. The risk of abusing these policies was mitigated through the use of gear restrictions, diver trainings, and through participatory approaches that integrated scuba divers and stakeholder organizations in lionfish research and management. Our review of policies and practices in the Mediterranean Sea found that many of our recommended lionfish management approaches are not being done and indicate potential opportunities to implement these. We expect and fully recommend that work continues towards multinational cooperation to facilitate regional coordination of research, control, and management efforts with respect to the Mediterranean lionfish invasion. As with other major biological invasions, lionfish are unconstrained by political borders and their control will require rapid and strategic management approaches with broad cooperation among and between governments and stakeholders.

show abstract

Low Pufferfish and Lionfish Predation in Their Native and Invaded Ranges Suggests Human Control Mechanisms May Be Necessary to Control Their Mediterranean Abundances

Cited by 23 publications

References 121 publications

The biology and ecology of the invasive silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus), with emphasis on the Eastern Mediterranean

The biology and ecology of the invasive silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus), with emphasis on the Eastern Mediterranean

The Role of Citizen Science in the Research and Management of Invasive Lionfish across the Western Atlantic

Lessons From the Western Atlantic Lionfish Invasion to Inform Management in the Mediterranean

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About