Larval duration of the lionfish, Pterois volitans along the Bahamian Archipelago

Larval duration of the non-native Indo-Pacific lionfish was estimated from samples collected along the Bahamian Archipelago using sagittal otoliths. Settlement marks, characterized by daily growth increments with reduced coloration, less definitive margins, and a re-orientation of the growth axes an...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental biology of fishes 2010-08, Vol.88 (4), p.305-309
Main Authors: Ahrenholz, Dean W, Morris, James A. Jr
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agnatha. Pisces
Animal and plant ecology
Animal populations
Animal reproduction
Animal Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Archipelagoes
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Daily increments
Environment
Fish
Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Habitats
invasive species
Larval duration
Life Sciences
Lionfish
Nature Conservation
Nonnative species
Otoliths
Pterois volitans
Settlement mark
Vertebrata
Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution
Zoology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Larval duration of the non-native Indo-Pacific lionfish was estimated from samples collected along the Bahamian Archipelago using sagittal otoliths. Settlement marks, characterized by daily growth increments with reduced coloration, less definitive margins, and a re-orientation of the growth axes and otolith shape, were determined for 28 individuals. Settlement age was between 20 and 35 days with a mean of 26.2 days. Comparisons of settlement age to other littoral and reef fish species suggest that lionfish settlement age is moderate to relatively low. Lionfish pelagic larval duration is apparently sufficient to allow their rapid establishment and wide geographic range in the western Atlantic and Caribbean.
ISSN:0378-1909
1573-5133
DOI:10.1007/s10641-010-9647-4