Requesting Pictures for Florida Fish and Wildlife Lionfish Biological Profiles

[Keydiver]

Hi everyone, I'm hoping that some of you have some lionfish pictures you would be willing to let me use. I'm a Master's student at the University of Florida's Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory and my thesis involves collecting primary literature and producing biological profiles for the commonly traded lionfish species in the aquarium trade.

If anyone has good pictures of P. antennata,P. radiata,P. lunulata,P. sphex,P. mombasae,P. russellii, D. brachypterus,D. biocellatus,D. zebra,D. barberi, or P. heterura, please PM me! I'm happy to give picture credit in the final reports for any of these species.

 

[eatbreakfast]

@Lionfish Lair

 

[evolved]

@Lionfish Lair

+1
That's your needed point of contact here. If there's anything she doesn't have, @rayn probably will.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

What's your thesis statement?

 

[rayn]

I have some, but they are nothing compared to Lionfish lair pics.

 

[Stunna]

Are you looking for pictures of them in the aquarium or in the wild?

 

[Keydiver]

@Lionfish Lair

+1
That's your needed point of contact here. If there's anything she doesn't have, @rayn probably will.

Thanks for the pointers, much appreciated.

What's your thesis statement?

I don't quite have an exact thesis statement, but let me give you a bit of background on the project. I'm a research biologist contracted by FWC with the UF TAL here in Ruskin working in our invasion ecology lab. My thesis project has three major components:

1. To develop a biological synopsis of each species that highlights life history traits, native ranges, habitat preference, etc. that can be used as a decision support tool for policymakers and management agencies.

2. To run all the applicable species through a computer modelling program called The Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) developed by the Australian government to generate a numerical score for the risk of each species. I will also be running volitans and miles through to set a baseline for a "Known high risk invader". Basically this program is a questionnaire consisting of 55 parts that pertain to what I'll be highlighting in the biological profiles. This is a way to quantify risk for these species and potentially adapt the AS-ISK for Florida marine ornamentals (Thus far there is no screening tool developed for marine ornamentals in general).

3. To perform chronic lower lethal temperature trails on 7 of the species in an insulated temperature controlled fiberglass experimental unit. I know this may offend some of you but it is an important part of this study. So far lower lethals have only been done on P. volitans, and it represents a major lack in data. Lower lethals often determine range for marine species (As we've seen off the coast of NC with volitans at Cape Hatteras). Temperature will be dropped from 25 C daily with recordings at key points (Cessation of feeding, loss of equilibrium, and death).

 

[Keydiver]

Are you looking for pictures of them in the aquarium or in the wild?

Either or. Ideally I would like pictures with the specimen central, with not a lot of background noise. Specifically looking for shots that represent the characteristics of each species (Pectoral markings and spots, supraocular tentacles, characteristic banding, etc.)

 

[Lionfish Lair]

I'll help you out with photos.

I don't have a lunulata photo because that isn't a common lion found in the hobby. I can't say I'd back testing that would result in the death of this species, as well as a couple others on your list. I've seen a single picture of a lunulata in this hobby in 20 years. The sphex is also a hard to come by Hawaiian lion, that you may see only 2 enter into the hobby a year..... if that. The heterura is a cold water fish and again is very rare. They succumb very easily to water values outside of their optimal. The sphex and the heterura are also smaller lions, so they really aren't the same risk we are seeing with the miles/volitans. Even if they were successful in Florida water.... so? they are the size of peanuts (not literally, of course) and don't pose a threat to many reef fish. A volitans/miles can suck back a school of fish in one pass.... they deserve to be "feared".

 

[rayn]

I got the heterura pic.

 

[rayn]

Am I understanding it right, you want to subject live fish to some sort of harsh environment to see at which point they succumb to it?

 

[cracker]

If You haven't already,check out Florida Sportsman magazine forum. There maybe be insight and pics there.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Unfortunately, a lot of studies written about fish involve testing that we may not find tasteful as hobbyists. Even something like trying to figure out optimal levels of vitamin C in regards to immune response can involve fish deaths.

 

[Keydiver]

I have some, but they are nothing compared to Lionfish lair pics.

I'll help you out with photos.

I don't have a lunulata photo because that isn't a common lion found in the hobby. I can't say I'd back testing that would result in the death of this species, as well as a couple others on your list. I've seen a single picture of a lunulata in this hobby in 20 years. The sphex is also a hard to come by Hawaiian lion, that you may see only 2 enter into the hobby a year..... if that. The heterura is a cold water fish and again is very rare. They succumb very easily to water values outside of their optimal. The sphex and the heterura are also smaller lions, so they really aren't the same risk we are seeing with the miles/volitans. Even if they were successful in Florida water.... so? they are the size of peanuts (not literally, of course) and don't pose a threat to many reef fish. A volitans/miles can suck back a school of fish in one pass.... they deserve to be "feared".

I got the heterura pic.

Thank you both, that would really be a great help, and it would bring some color to these profiles. As far as the lower lethals go, I cannot say that I'm completely ok with it. All life has value, but when you're in the science of risk analysis, it is important to have critical understandings of these species physiology before they become a problem. For example the massive body of literature that exists on miles and volitans came about specifically because they became a problem. My goal is to give managing agencies the opportunity for a proactive rather than a reactive approach.

The 7 species that my contract calls for may indeed be a much shorter list due to availability of live specimens. I would highly doubt (And would go out on a limb to say I would likely refuse) that we do the lower lethal trials on any of the uncommon species. More than likely it will be a couple of the larger bodied Pterois, and a couple of the most common Dendrochirus.

I get what you're saying about the smaller bodied species posing less of a threat. Coupled with the fact that volitans is the largest bodied and is almost exclusively a piscivore as an adult makes me think that we have the worst of the lot already established. But when you consider differences in habitat niche, resource partitioning, and potentially vastly different life history traits, there is potential that, say as an example, P. antennata will prove detrimental to invertebrate populations if it establishes. There is also the potential that their abundance will remain low and they won't have any ecological or socioeconomic impacts. That's why I'm doing the research- so that I might be able to shed some light on the subject and provide basis for future studies.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Could be a study that results in the ban of all lions everywhere, theroetically. Lol. I'm only yanking your chain

 

[rayn]

Could be a study that results in the ban of all lions everywhere, theroetically. Lol. I'm only yanking your chain

NOOOOOOO

 

[Lionfish Lair]

http://www.lionfishlair.com

 

[Keydiver]

Could be a study that results in the ban of all lions everywhere, theroetically. Lol. I'm only yanking your chain

I'll eat my thesis page by page before that happens!

Beautiful pictures, These won't be done until Summer of next year, but I'll be sure to let you know when they are so you can take a look.

 

[evolved]

I don't have a lunulata photo because that isn't a common lion found in the hobby. I can't say I'd back testing that would result in the death of this species, as well as a couple others on your list. I've seen a single picture of a lunulata in this hobby in 20 years.

I am assuming the ones here (besides the holotype) are misidentified, but in case they are not: http://www.eol.org/pages/213403/overview

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Ya, that's not them. The lunulata almost looks like a sick volitans/miles. Their scales look different, like they have spots. There's more than one captive pic, but no more than handful.