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Invasive Lionfish Diet Composition and Gastric Evacuation Rate

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Date Issued:
2015
Summary:
Invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) have rapidly spread throughout the Atlantic and Caribbean waters in the past 30 years, representing a threat to fish communities through predation. Diet composition of lionfish was examined by collecting stomach contents from fishes taken during 2014 summer roundup events in St. Lucie and Martin County, Florida. Differences in composition of stomachs as well as diversity of prey items were observed between both events. The most numerous prey items were teleost fishes (67-91%) and crustaceans (9-32.7%). Fish from six varying families were identified thus far. Black sea bass (Centropristis striata), a managed fishery, was noted frequently in the St. Lucie stomachs. In addition to diet composition, gastric evacuation rate (GER) was tested through live feeding trials with Mojarra sp. One trial of 14 hours did not encompass total digestion of 8.5 mL of prey, suggesting that lionfishes’ GER is potentially much longer than previously thought and dependent on stomach volume.
Title: Invasive Lionfish Diet Composition and Gastric Evacuation Rate.
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Name(s): Thomas, Sara
Moore, Jon
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Thesis
Date Created: Spring 2015
Date Issued: 2015
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: pdf
Extent: 65 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) have rapidly spread throughout the Atlantic and Caribbean waters in the past 30 years, representing a threat to fish communities through predation. Diet composition of lionfish was examined by collecting stomach contents from fishes taken during 2014 summer roundup events in St. Lucie and Martin County, Florida. Differences in composition of stomachs as well as diversity of prey items were observed between both events. The most numerous prey items were teleost fishes (67-91%) and crustaceans (9-32.7%). Fish from six varying families were identified thus far. Black sea bass (Centropristis striata), a managed fishery, was noted frequently in the St. Lucie stomachs. In addition to diet composition, gastric evacuation rate (GER) was tested through live feeding trials with Mojarra sp. One trial of 14 hours did not encompass total digestion of 8.5 mL of prey, suggesting that lionfishes’ GER is potentially much longer than previously thought and dependent on stomach volume.
Identifier: FA00003657 (IID)
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Thesis (B.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, 2016.
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00003657
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Host Institution: FAU

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