Variation in lionfish behavior in response to depth, group size and time-of-day at Bocas del Toro, Panama

Background/Question/Methods

The Indo-Pacific Lionfish (Pterois volitans) has established populations in coastal habitats in the Western Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.  Invasive Lionfish have been shown to reduce the recruitment of native fishes and has been hypothesized to have major effects on the community structure of coral reefs in its invaded range.  Efforts to understand and predict the effects of Lionfish on native communities require a thorough understanding of the biology and ecology of the species.  Currently there is a paucity of basic information on the distribution and behavior of Lionfish in its invaded range.  Here I use visual surveys to determine the distribution and behavior of Lionfish at Bocas Del Toro, Panama.  I tracked 46 of Lionfish for 20 minute intervals recording information on the time-of-day the fish were observed, the depth of each fish, and the size of groups.  During these observations, an ethogram was used to categorize the behaviors of individuals, including investigative behaviors, predatory behaviors, agonistic behaviors, and shelter seeking behaviors.

Results/Conclusions

My preliminary results show that Lionfish were 5 times more common and more active in the late morning (9:35-11:20) compared to the late afternoon (2:15-5:00), a result that is opposite of a previous study.  Observations were also more common, and fish exhibited more behaviors at shallower depths (3 – 6m) possibly due to the turbidity cline at 10m depth at Bocas Del; Toro Lionfish tended to be solitary and exhibited a range of behaviors including eye following, stalking, and lunging.  Lionfish were most active and more likely to display predatory behaviors when solitary and tended to display few behaviors when found in groups.  This is the first study to make detailed behavioral observations of lionfish, and indicates interesting avenues of further ethological study.  The ethogram developed here could be used to understand the nuanced interactions, including predatory and competitive interactions between this invasive species and other species in the native community.