Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Gymnothorax spp. (Muraenidae) as natural predators of the lionfish Pterois miles in its native biogeographical range

  • Published:
Environmental Biology of Fishes Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Lionfish (Pterois miles) were observed avoiding coral pinnacles inhabited by the moray eels Gymnothorax flavimarginatus and G. javanicus in the northern Red Sea, Egypt. Release of lionfish (Standard Length 93–104 mm) in such coral pinnacles in November 2016 resulted in almost immediate predation by large moray eels (Total Length > 1 m). Predation by moray eels may be the key control mechanism of population growth in the native biogeographical range of Pterois spp. and may indirectly explain the success of the invasive populations. This is the first video-documented record of moray eels feeding on the lionfish P. miles.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

References

  • Abrams RW, Abrams MD, Schein MW (1983) Diurnal observations on the behavioural ecology of Gymnothorax moringa (Cuvier) and Muraena miliaris (Kaup) on a Caribbean coral reef. Coral Reefs 1:185–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abrams RW, Schein MW (1986) Individual movements and population density estimates for moray eels on a Caribbean coral reef. Coral Reefs 5:161–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernadsky G, Goulet D (1991) A natural predator of the lionfish, Pterois miles. Copeia 1:230–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruno JF, Valdivia A, Hackerott S, Cox CE, Green SJ, Côté IM, Akins L, Layman CA, Precht WF (2013) Testing the grouper biocontrol hypothesis: a response to Mumby et al. 2013. PeerJ PrePrints e139v1

  • Carpenter KE, Springer VG (2005) The center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity: the Philippine Islands. Environ Biol Fish 72:467–480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Côté IM, Green SJ, Hixon MA (2013) Predatory fish invaders: insight from Indo-Pacific lionfish in the western Atlantic and Caribbean. Biol Conserv 164:50–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cure K, Benkwitt CE, Kindinger TL, Pickering EA, Pusack TJ, McIlwain JL, Hixon MA (2012) Comparative behavior of red lionfish Pterois volitans on native Pacific versus invaded Atlantic coral reefs. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 467:181–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickens LC, Goatley CH, Tanner JK, Bellwood DR (2011) Quantifying relative diver effects in underwater visual censuses. PLoS One 6:e18965

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Donaldson TJ, Benavente D, Diaz R (2010) Why are lionfishes (Pterois, Scorpaenidae) so rare in their native ranges? Proceedings of the 63rd gulf and Caribbean. Fisheries Institute 2011:352–359

    Google Scholar 

  • Fishelson L (1997) Experiments and observations on food consumption, growth and starvation in Dendrochirus brachypterus and Pterois volitans (Pteroinae, Scorpaenidae). Environ Biol Fish 50:391–403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Froese R, Pauly D (2015) FishBase. World Wide Web Electronic Publications. http://www.fishbase.org. Accessed on 28 Nov 2016

  • Gilbert M, Rasmussen JB, Kramer DL (2005) Estimating the density and biomass of moray eels (Muraenidae) using a modified visual census method for hole-dwelling reef fauna. Environ Biol Fish 73:415–426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green SJ, Akins JL, Maljković A, Côté IM (2012) Invasive lionfish drive Atlantic coral reef fish declines. PLoS One 7:e32596

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hackerott S, Valdivia A, Green SJ, Côté IM, Cox CE, Akins L, Layman CA, Precht WF, Bruno JF (2013) Native predators do not influence invasion success of Pacific lionfish on Caribbean reefs. PLoS One 8:e68259

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoeksema BW (2007) Delineation of the Indo-Malayan centre of maximum marine biodiversity: the coral triangle. In: Renema W (ed) Biogeography, time, and place: distributions, barriers, and islands. Springer, New York, pp 117–178

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Johnston MW, Purkis SJ (2011) Spatial analysis of the invasion of lionfish in the western Atlantic and Caribbean. Mar Poll Bull 62:1218–1226

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jud ZR, Layman CA, Lee JA, Arrington DA (2011) Recent invasion of a Florida (USA) estuarine system by lionfish Pterois volitans / P. miles. Aquat Biol 13(1):21–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kulbicki M, Beets J, Chabanet P, Cure K, Darling E, Floeter SR, Galzin R, Green A, Harmelin-Vivien M, Hixon M, Letourneur Y (2012) Distributions of Indo-Pacific lionfishes Pterois spp. in their native ranges: implications for the Atlantic invasion. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 446:189–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luiz OJ, Floeter SR, Rocha LA, Ferreira CEL (2013) Perspectives for the lionfish invasion in the South Atlantic: are Brazilian reefs protected by the currents? Mar Ecol Prog Ser 485:1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maljković A, van Leeuwen TE, Cove SN (2008) Predation on the invasive red lionfish, Pterois volitans (Pisces: Scorpaenidae), by native groupers in the Bahamas. Coral Reefs 27:501

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McTee SA, Grubich JR (2014) Native densities, distribution, and diurnal activity of Red Sea lionfishes (Scorpaenidae). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 508:223–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris JA, Akins JL (2009) Feeding ecology of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans) in the Bahamian archipelago. Environ Biol Fish 86:389–398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mumby PJ, Brumbaugh DR, Harborne AR, Roff G (2013) On the relationship between native grouper and invasive lionfish in the Caribbean. PeerJ PrePrints e45v1

  • Naumann MS, Wild C (2013) Foraging association of lionfish and moray eels in a Red Sea seagrass meadow. Coral Reefs 32:1111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Randall JE, Golani D (1995) Review of the moray eels (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) of the Red Sea. Bull Mar Sci 56(3):849–880

    Google Scholar 

  • Willis TJ (2001) Visual census methods underestimate density and diversity of cryptic reef fishes. J Fish Biol 59:1408–1411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young RF, Winn HE (2003) Activity patterns, diet, and shelter site use for two species of morays eels, Gymnothorax moringa and Gymnothorax vicinus, in Belize. Copeia 2003:44–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. Two anonymous reviewers provided valuable comments to improve the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, American University in Cairo, P.O. Box 74, New Cairo, 11835, Egypt

    Arthur R. Bos

  2. Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Arthur R. Bos

  3. Dive Pro Academy, P.O. Box 94, Sahl Hasheesh, Hurghada, Egypt

    Ashraf M. Sanad & Khamis Elsayed

Authors
  1. Arthur R. Bos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ashraf M. Sanad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Khamis Elsayed
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arthur R. Bos.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

Individual of Gymnothorax flavimarginatus preying on a lionfish Pterois miles on 25 November 2016 in a coral reef off Hurghada, Egypt, Red Sea (MP4 112027 kb)

ESM 2

Individual of Gymnothorax javanicus preying on a lionfish Pterois miles on 25 November 2016 in a coral reef off Hurghada, Egypt, Red Sea (MP4 121004 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bos, A.R., Sanad, A.M. & Elsayed, K. Gymnothorax spp. (Muraenidae) as natural predators of the lionfish Pterois miles in its native biogeographical range. Environ Biol Fish 100, 745–748 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-017-0600-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-017-0600-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation