scubadoo
Active Member
Originally Posted by jcrim
Ophiura, I don't understand where the animosity is coming from. I rescued this particular animal from a 75 gallon tank at the lfs that he shared with 3 stingrays and a large zebra moray. He had been there four months. In any event, I did not claim that I was going to actually release this one, I merely asked for information on the subject.
Hobbyists are taking a beating due to lionfish that have appeared in eastern shore waters of the US. Do a search on the net regarding lionfish on the east coast and you will see why releasing animals can do harm and why hobbyists are taking a "beating".
Some are claiming these fish were realesed bu hobbyists and introduced and they are now causing problems. Lionfish are not native to these waters but appeared to have adapted and are thriving. Many have blamed the realsing in the wild...others have pointed top possible other causes including Hurrican Andrew where many "escaped" the home aquarium....just a theory/possible additional cause out there.
Evidence points to the aquarium trade as the point of entry
Hare and Whitfield in their Integrated Assessment report that the aquarium trade appears most likely to be responsible for the introduction of lionfish into the U.S. waters.
They cite recent research conducted by the Reef Environmental Education Foundation that reports a number of other aquarium fish are currently surviving off the coast of Florida. Moreover, color patterns of those lionfish identified off the southeastern United States are similar to those from the Philippines, the source of many of the lionfish collected for the aquarium trade.
Cut and paste
The NOAA/NCCOS scientists point out that an unintentional release from an aquarium did occur in 1992, but they say it is impossible to determine if these fish account for those now being identified off the eastern seaboard.
The specific manner of lionfish introduction into the western Atlantic Ocean remains something of a mystery. Home aquarists could have released lionfish once they became too large for their aquariums or for other reasons, Hare and Whitfield note. There is no evidence to suggest that ballast water is a source for the lionfish invasion although it is a common source of many marine invertebrate introductions. Further, although lionfish have been introduced into the western Mediterranean, likely through the Suez Canal, no evidence suggests that they crossed the Atlantic nor that they entered the Atlantic through the Panama Canal.
Ecological impact, now minimal, linked to lionfish population growth
For now, reef communities in the Western Atlantic Ocean are unlikely to be adversely affected by the debut of the lionfish, Hare and Whitfield explain, because the lionfish are still relatively few in number.
But they say substantial growth in the lionfish population may lead to increased ecological risks and damages. Lionfish could pose concerns for native ecosystems through predatory interactions with native species, they caution. In addition, other stress factors are already causing these ecosystems to undergo changes likely to favor continued growth and dispersal of the lionfish population.
Lionfish ambush their prey by using their outstretched fan-like pectoral fins to slowly pursue, and "corner," their prey, (lionfish don't sting their prey, but their spines are thought to be more defensive in nature.) Overall, the scientists point out, predatory interactions of lionfish within reef communities are not well understood. The are concerned, however, that lionfish could decrease prey population abundance and/or compete with other predators.
Another factor considered in their report: Native prey species' lack of experience in confronting the intimidating lionfish may actually heighten the lionfishes' predatory efficiency.
One more unknown piece of the lionfish puzzle: few potential lionfish predators are believed to exist even in their native ranges, let alone in their new neighborhoods. Questions abound on what a predator in the Atlantic Ocean will make of this "new kid on the block."
Other stress factors - ranging from impacts of overfishing to risks posed by climate change, and all of them acting in combination - may further benefit the lionfish's already impressive competitive advantages, potentially allowing it to extend its range further northward.
Many potentially important reef fish predators that otherwise might compete with lionfish are already reported to be overfished, Hare and Whitfield remind us. Also, the tropical reef fish fauna of the southeast United States already appear to be extending their range northward, possibly because of warming ocean temperatures. Other NOAA researchers have found that from the 1970s to the 1990s, both the number of tropical species and the abundance of individual tropical species have increased off the coast of North Carolina.
Ophiura, I don't understand where the animosity is coming from. I rescued this particular animal from a 75 gallon tank at the lfs that he shared with 3 stingrays and a large zebra moray. He had been there four months. In any event, I did not claim that I was going to actually release this one, I merely asked for information on the subject.
Hobbyists are taking a beating due to lionfish that have appeared in eastern shore waters of the US. Do a search on the net regarding lionfish on the east coast and you will see why releasing animals can do harm and why hobbyists are taking a "beating".
Some are claiming these fish were realesed bu hobbyists and introduced and they are now causing problems. Lionfish are not native to these waters but appeared to have adapted and are thriving. Many have blamed the realsing in the wild...others have pointed top possible other causes including Hurrican Andrew where many "escaped" the home aquarium....just a theory/possible additional cause out there.
Evidence points to the aquarium trade as the point of entry
Hare and Whitfield in their Integrated Assessment report that the aquarium trade appears most likely to be responsible for the introduction of lionfish into the U.S. waters.
They cite recent research conducted by the Reef Environmental Education Foundation that reports a number of other aquarium fish are currently surviving off the coast of Florida. Moreover, color patterns of those lionfish identified off the southeastern United States are similar to those from the Philippines, the source of many of the lionfish collected for the aquarium trade.
Cut and paste
The NOAA/NCCOS scientists point out that an unintentional release from an aquarium did occur in 1992, but they say it is impossible to determine if these fish account for those now being identified off the eastern seaboard.
The specific manner of lionfish introduction into the western Atlantic Ocean remains something of a mystery. Home aquarists could have released lionfish once they became too large for their aquariums or for other reasons, Hare and Whitfield note. There is no evidence to suggest that ballast water is a source for the lionfish invasion although it is a common source of many marine invertebrate introductions. Further, although lionfish have been introduced into the western Mediterranean, likely through the Suez Canal, no evidence suggests that they crossed the Atlantic nor that they entered the Atlantic through the Panama Canal.
Ecological impact, now minimal, linked to lionfish population growth
For now, reef communities in the Western Atlantic Ocean are unlikely to be adversely affected by the debut of the lionfish, Hare and Whitfield explain, because the lionfish are still relatively few in number.
But they say substantial growth in the lionfish population may lead to increased ecological risks and damages. Lionfish could pose concerns for native ecosystems through predatory interactions with native species, they caution. In addition, other stress factors are already causing these ecosystems to undergo changes likely to favor continued growth and dispersal of the lionfish population.
Lionfish ambush their prey by using their outstretched fan-like pectoral fins to slowly pursue, and "corner," their prey, (lionfish don't sting their prey, but their spines are thought to be more defensive in nature.) Overall, the scientists point out, predatory interactions of lionfish within reef communities are not well understood. The are concerned, however, that lionfish could decrease prey population abundance and/or compete with other predators.
Another factor considered in their report: Native prey species' lack of experience in confronting the intimidating lionfish may actually heighten the lionfishes' predatory efficiency.
One more unknown piece of the lionfish puzzle: few potential lionfish predators are believed to exist even in their native ranges, let alone in their new neighborhoods. Questions abound on what a predator in the Atlantic Ocean will make of this "new kid on the block."
Other stress factors - ranging from impacts of overfishing to risks posed by climate change, and all of them acting in combination - may further benefit the lionfish's already impressive competitive advantages, potentially allowing it to extend its range further northward.
Many potentially important reef fish predators that otherwise might compete with lionfish are already reported to be overfished, Hare and Whitfield remind us. Also, the tropical reef fish fauna of the southeast United States already appear to be extending their range northward, possibly because of warming ocean temperatures. Other NOAA researchers have found that from the 1970s to the 1990s, both the number of tropical species and the abundance of individual tropical species have increased off the coast of North Carolina.
