On the relationship between native grouper and invasive lionfish in the Caribbean

Mumby, Peter J.; Brumbaugh, Daniel R.; Harborne, Alastair R.; Roff, George

doi:10.7287/peerj.preprints.45

Cited by 7 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Our results suggest that interactions with native predators do not influence the colonization or post-establishment population density of invasive lionfish on Caribbean reefs." Mumby et al (2013) posted a critique of our manuscript. Here we respond to their main points.…”

Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the grouper biocontrol hypothesis: A response to Mumby et al. 2013

Bruno

Valdivia

Hackerott

et al. 2013

Preprint

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Biotic resistance is the idea that native species negatively affect the invasion success of introduced species. We tested the hypothesis that native grouper are controlling the abundance of exotic lionfish on Caribbean coral reefs by assessing the relationship between the density and biomass of lionfish and native predators at 71 reefs in three biogeographic regions. Our results indicated that: (a) the abundance of lionfish and large grouper are not negatively related, and (b) lionfish abundance is controlled by a number of physical site characteristics, and possibly by culling. Taken together, our results suggest that managers cannot rely on native grouper populations to control the lionfish invasion. Mumby et al. (2013) objected to several aspects of our analysis and conclusions. Here we address their criticisms and argue that our original conclusions are valid.

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Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the grouper biocontrol hypothesis: A response to Mumby et al. 2013

Bruno

Valdivia

Hackerott

et al. 2013

Preprint

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“…A benthic habitat classification scheme, including geomorphological, bottom cover and benthic habitat levels, was developed based on previous schemes (Mumby and Harborne 1999, Rohmann 2008, Andréfouët 2012. The classification scheme was adapted to the field data and imagery so as to maximize the variety of benthic habitats included, provided an adequate level of confidence in the recognition of features (Table 1).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benthic Habitat Mapping and Biodiversity Analysis in the Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago Reserve

Teixeira

Nilsson

Hedley

et al. 2015

Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci.

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ABSTRACT:The Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago Reserve is a recently established marine protected area, the largest in Africa, located in the waters of Northern Mozambique. This protected area is of significant local economic importance and global ecological relevance, containing the southernmost coral reefs in Eastern Africa. However, information related to the marine ecosystem, notably benthic habitat is very scarce. Twelve atolls were mapped in the region using object-based image classification of very-high resolution satellite imagery (IKONOS, Quickbird, and WorldView-2). Geographically referenced data on benthic cover and depth were gathered in the course of three fieldwork expeditions covering a total of four atolls and two shallow reef structures in the Segundas Archipelago. The resulting map allows the estimation of three distinct types of coral cover (field, patches, spurs and grooves); the differentiation of sand, rubble and rock substrate; and the detection of seagrass and brown macroalgae, identifying up to 24 benthic habitats. Average overall accuracy was above 50%. The high variability of the optical properties on the reef systems, in large due to the connectivity with the mainland via plumes, while interesting from an ecological perspective increases the challenges for remote sensing of bottom cover. New information indicates the presence of deep benthic cover extending from the atolls, suggesting the need for further research on Coastal Eastern African corals, namely on their resilience and connectivity, and supporting current knowledge of the existence of an almost continuous coral reef from Kenya to Mozambique. Coral and fish biodiversity data have been analysed together with the satellite-derived maps. Results support the local perception that ecosystems are in decline and uncover new information about biodiversity's spatial patterns. Our work provides a detailed depiction of marine habitats that may aid the management of the protected area, namely in the definition of fishing zones and coral cover monitoring.

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“…This analysis expands our original statistical model of the relationship between invasive lionfish and native grouper species (Hackerott et al, 2013) to include two additional covariates hypothesized to moderate the relationship between these species (Mumby et al (2013). After accounting for these additional processes, we find that: (a) the biomasses of lionfish and largebodied grouper (or other predators) are not negatively related, and (b) lionfish biomass is controlled by a number of physical site characteristics, as well as by culling within marine reserves.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…The site-specific parameters included as covariates in our statistical model were wind exposure, habitat type, protection status, depth, and time since invasion which are described in detail in Hackerott et al (2013). We added two new variables to the models that are hypothesized to strongly modulate lionfish abundance (Mumby et al, 2013): human population density/reef area (humans/reef) which is a proxy for fishing effects (Newton et al, 2007;Mora, 2008), and is predicted to be negatively correlated with lionfish density; and reef complexity, which is a proxy for habitat heterogeneity within sites, predicted to have a positive effect on lionfish density . Human population density was calculated as the number of humans within 50 km (maximum number of people living within 50 km radius of each site).…”

Section: Covariatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, fishing mortality, larval dispersal, habitat quality, connectivity, reef structural complexity, depth, ecological interactions, and a myriad of other factors control the population dynamics of reef fish species (Sale, 2002). Here we reevaluated the relationship between large-bodied grouper and other predators and lionfish abundance, accounting for a broader set of covariates than those included by Hackerott et al (2013) that may mediate the interaction between predators and the invader (Mumby et al, 2013).We also evaluated the grouper bio-control hypothesis proposed by Mumby et al (2011) and provide new insights into how such biotic resistance is unlikely at the scale of the Caribbean reef system. The issue still remains how to best manage and/or reduce numbers of lionfish where they are currently found, and the only effective solution to date is direct removal by fisherman and divers (Barbour et al, 2011;Frazer et al, 2012;Green et al, 2013 in press).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Supplemental Information 4: Moran’s I Similarity Spline Correlograms for Lionfish and Grouper Raw Data Across All Sites (Top Tw

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Biotic resistance is the idea that native species negatively affect the invasion success of introduced species, but whether this can occur at large spatial scales is poorly understood.Here we re-evaluated the hypothesis that native large-bodied grouper and other predators are controlling the abundance of exotic lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) on Caribbean coral reefs. We assessed the relationship between the biomass of lionfish and native predators at 71 reefs in three biogeographic regions while taking into consideration several cofactors that may affect fish abundance, including among others, proxies for fishing pressure and habitat structural complexity. Our results indicate that the abundance of lionfish, large-bodied grouper and other predators were not negatively related. Lionfish abundance was instead controlled by several physical site characteristics, and possibly by culling. Taken together, our results suggest that managers cannot rely on current native grouper populations to control the lionfish invasion.PeerJ PrePrints | http://dx.doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.262v1 | CC-BY 4.0

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On the relationship between native grouper and invasive lionfish in the Caribbean

Cited by 7 publications

References 11 publications

Testing the grouper biocontrol hypothesis: A response to Mumby et al. 2013

Testing the grouper biocontrol hypothesis: A response to Mumby et al. 2013

Benthic Habitat Mapping and Biodiversity Analysis in the Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago Reserve

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