http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/news/lib/55 The latest news from below the surface Tue, 02 Aug 2011 07:28:34 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/news/lib/55/comment-page-1#comment-526 Flippafoot Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:00:27 +0000 http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/news/?p=55#comment-526 Some of the work NOAA, REEF, and USGS (and others) proves Atlantic lionfish started from a very small population. Genetics point to 8 females! They reach maturity very quickly and reproduce like rabbits! No known predators, warm water and lots to eat.....2004 first lionfish seen in the Bahamas...2009 lionfish dominate the reefs in Bahamas! 750,000 lionfish are imported every year for the pet shop trade in Florida, no ships from lionfish native areas come to Florida directly and they aren't found swimming through the Panama cannal. Now the research is definately pointing to the pet trade. Lionfish are the first fish to become established but there are about 30 other fish seen off the coast of Florida that aren't supposed to be there. One was a bamboo shark! Hard to squeeze into ballast tanks! Some of the work NOAA, REEF, and USGS (and others) proves Atlantic lionfish started from a very small population. Genetics point to 8 females! They reach maturity very quickly and reproduce like rabbits! No known predators, warm water and lots to eat…..2004 first lionfish seen in the Bahamas…2009 lionfish dominate the reefs in Bahamas! 750,000 lionfish are imported every year for the pet shop trade in Florida, no ships from lionfish native areas come to Florida directly and they aren’t found swimming through the Panama cannal. Now the research is definately pointing to the pet trade. Lionfish are the first fish to become established but there are about 30 other fish seen off the coast of Florida that aren’t supposed to be there. One was a bamboo shark! Hard to squeeze into ballast tanks!

]]> http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/news/lib/55/comment-page-1#comment-73 ILuvMyGoldBarb Sat, 12 Jul 2008 09:56:20 +0000 http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/news/?p=55#comment-73 I love it, this article automatically blames the aquarium hobbyists in Florida for the introduction of this species. The fact is, that is only 1 small possibility, and the likely culprit is in fact the shipping industry. Ships traveling through the native waters of P. volitans regularaly take seawater into the ballast tanks of the ships. Contained in that water is thousands of tiny planktonic stage P. volitans. These young are unwittingly transported in the ballast tanks and inadvertently introduced into the ecosystem. It just sickens me that the introduction of an invasive species is automatically blamed in irresponsible hobbyists. While they do exist and I'm sure there are some of these fish that are released into the wild, the odds of enough being introduced in just the right locations to form a viable population are astronomical. The factors included the need for multiple males and females to be introduced and for them to all find each other. The simple introduction of one of each will not provide a sufficient gene pool to sustain a viable population for very long at all. I love it, this article automatically blames the aquarium hobbyists in Florida for the introduction of this species. The fact is, that is only 1 small possibility, and the likely culprit is in fact the shipping industry. Ships traveling through the native waters of P. volitans regularaly take seawater into the ballast tanks of the ships. Contained in that water is thousands of tiny planktonic stage P. volitans. These young are unwittingly transported in the ballast tanks and inadvertently introduced into the ecosystem. It just sickens me that the introduction of an invasive species is automatically blamed in irresponsible hobbyists. While they do exist and I’m sure there are some of these fish that are released into the wild, the odds of enough being introduced in just the right locations to form a viable population are astronomical. The factors included the need for multiple males and females to be introduced and for them to all find each other. The simple introduction of one of each will not provide a sufficient gene pool to sustain a viable population for very long at all.

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