McCard, M, McCard, N, Coughlan, NE, South, J, Kregting, L and Dick, JTA (2024) Functional response metrics explain and predict high but differing ecological impacts of juvenile and adult lionfish. Royal Society Open Science, 11.

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Abstract

Recent accumulation of evidence across taxa indicates that the ecological impacts of invasive alien species are predictable from their Functional Response (FR; e.g., the maximum feeding rate) and Functional Response Ratio (FRR; the FR attack rate divided by handling time). Here, we experimentally derive these metrics to predict the ecological impacts of both juvenile and adult lionfish (Pterois volitans), one of the world’s most damaging invaders, across representative and likely future prey types. Potentially prey-population destabilising Type II FRs were exhibited by both life stages of lionfish towards four prey species: Artemia salina, Gammarus oceanicus, Palaemonetes varians and Nephrops norvegicus. FR magnitudes revealed ontogenetic shifts in lionfish impacts where juvenile lionfish displayed similar if not higher consumption rates than adult lionfish towards prey, apart from N. norvegicus, where adult consumption rate was considerably higher. Additionally, lionfish FRR values were very substantially higher than mean FRR values across known damaging invasive taxa. Thus, both life stages of lionfish are predicted to contribute to differing but high ecological impacts across prey communities, including commercially important species. With lionfish invasion ranges currently expanding across multiple regions globally, efforts to reduce lionfish numbers and population size structure, with provision of prey refugia through habitat complexity, might curtail their impacts. Nevertheless, the present study indicates that management programmes to support early detection and complete eradication of lionfish individuals when discovered in new regions is advised.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Invasive; Functional Response Ratio; Pterois volitans; impact predation; Nephrops norvegicus
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology
Divisions:	Biological & Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19)
Publisher:	The Royal Society
SWORD Depositor:	A Symplectic
Date Deposited:	24 Jul 2024 13:04
Last Modified:	21 Aug 2024 08:45
DOI or ID number:	10.1098/rsos.240855
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/23792

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