Title |
Ultimate Predators: Lionfish Have Evolved to Circumvent Prey Risk Assessment Abilities
|
---|---|
Published in |
PLOS ONE, October 2013
|
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0075781 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Oona M. Lönnstedt, Mark I. McCormick |
Abstract |
Invasive species cause catastrophic alterations to communities worldwide by changing the trophic balance within ecosystems. Ever since their introduction in the mid 1980's common red lionfish, Pterois volitans, are having dramatic impacts on the Caribbean ecosystem by displacing native species and disrupting food webs. Introduced lionfish capture prey at extraordinary rates, altering the composition of benthic communities. Here we demonstrate that the extraordinary success of the introduced lionfish lies in its capacity to circumvent prey risk assessment abilities as it is virtually undetectable by prey species in its native range. While experienced prey damselfish, Chromis viridis, respond with typical antipredator behaviours when exposed to a common predatory rock cod (Cephalopholis microprion) they fail to visibly react to either the scent or visual presentation of the red lionfish, and responded only to the scent (not the visual cue) of a lionfish of a different genus, Dendrochirus zebra. Experienced prey also had much higher survival when exposed to the two non-invasive predators compared to P. volitans. The cryptic nature of the red lionfish has enabled it to be destructive as a predator and a highly successful invasive species. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 2 | 17% |
Australia | 2 | 17% |
New Zealand | 1 | 8% |
Barbados | 1 | 8% |
Canada | 1 | 8% |
United Kingdom | 1 | 8% |
Unknown | 4 | 33% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Scientists | 7 | 58% |
Members of the public | 3 | 25% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 17% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Mexico | 2 | 2% |
Belize | 1 | <1% |
Portugal | 1 | <1% |
Canada | 1 | <1% |
United States | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 123 | 95% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Master | 24 | 19% |
Student > Bachelor | 23 | 18% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 22 | 17% |
Researcher | 13 | 10% |
Professor | 8 | 6% |
Other | 19 | 15% |
Unknown | 20 | 16% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 72 | 56% |
Environmental Science | 23 | 18% |
Immunology and Microbiology | 2 | 2% |
Earth and Planetary Sciences | 2 | 2% |
Decision Sciences | 1 | <1% |
Other | 3 | 2% |
Unknown | 26 | 20% |