Bryan David R, Blondeau Jeremiah, Siana Ashley, Ault Jerald S
Department of Marine Ecosystems and Society, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States of America.
Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA, United States of America.
PeerJ. 2018 Oct 10;6:e5700. doi: 10.7717/peerj.5700. eCollection 2018.
About nine years ago (circa 2009), Indo-Pacific lionfishes ( and ) invaded the south Florida coral reef ecosystem. During the intervening period of time, there has been substantial research on their biology, life history, demography, and habitat preferences; however, little is known concerning their regional population status and trends in the region. Here, we use a large-scale fisheries independent reef fish visual survey to investigate lionfish population status among three south Florida regions: Dry Tortugas, Florida Keys, and southeast Florida. Density estimates (ind ha) have been relatively stable since 2012, and are lower than other areas reported in the western Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. Low, stable population densities in south Florida suggest there may be a natural mechanism for lionfish population control. In the Dry Tortugas, lionfish density in 2016 was significantly lower (0.6 ind ha ± 0.15 SE) than the two other south Florida regions. The Dry Tortugas region has the highest percentage of marine protected areas, the lowest level of exploitation, and thus the highest densities of potential lionfish predators and competitors. In the Florida Keys and southeast Florida in 2016, lionfish densities were greater (5.4 ind ha ± 1.0 SE and 9.0 ± 2.7 SE, respectively) than the Dry Tortugas. Fishing pressure on lionfish was higher in these two regions, but densities of several potential predators and competitors were substantially lower. Despite relatively low regional lionfish densities that can be attributed to some combination of fishing mortality and natural biocontrol, lionfish are still well established in the south Florida coral reef ecosystem, warranting continued concern.
大约九年前（约2009年），印度-太平洋狮子鱼入侵了南佛罗里达珊瑚礁生态系统。在这期间，对它们的生物学、生活史、种群统计学和栖息地偏好进行了大量研究；然而，关于它们在该地区的区域种群状况和趋势却知之甚少。在此，我们使用大规模的独立于渔业的珊瑚礁鱼类视觉调查，来研究南佛罗里达三个的三个于三个地区的狮子鱼种群状况：德赖托图格斯群岛、佛罗里达群岛和佛罗里达东南部。自2012年以来，密度估计值（每公顷个体数）相对稳定，且低于西大西洋和加勒比海其他地区报告的数值。南佛罗里达较低且稳定的种群密度表明，可能存在一种控制狮子鱼种群数量的自然机制。在德赖托图格斯群岛，2016年狮子鱼的密度（0.6 每公顷个体数±0.15标准误）显著低于南佛罗里达的其他两个地区。德赖托图格斯群岛地区海洋保护区的比例最高，开发程度最低，因此潜在的狮子鱼捕食者和竞争者的密度也最高。2016年，在佛罗里达群岛和佛罗里达东南部，狮子鱼的密度（分别为5.4每公顷个体数±1.0标准误和9.0±2.7标准误）高于德赖托图格斯群岛。这两个地区对狮子鱼的捕捞压力较高，但几种潜在捕食者和竞争者的密度则低得多。尽管该地区狮子鱼的密度相对较低，这可能归因于捕捞死亡率和自然生物控制的某种组合，但狮子鱼在南佛罗里达珊瑚礁生态系统中仍然分布广泛，仍需持续关注。
