"Ecological Impacts of Climate-Related Ichthyofaunal Shifts and Invasive Lionfish on the Northern Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Community"

Large and apparently unprecedented increases in the abundance of juvenile gray (Lutjanus griseus) and lane snapper (L. synagris) within northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM) seagrasses have been recently documented.  Although previously occurring infrequently within the nGOM, their increased abundance coincides with regional warming trends, and may result in higher offshore presence.  Additionally, recent invasion by the Indo-Pacific red lionfish (Pterois volitans) into nGOM offshore habitats has been documented.  Increases in tropically-associated confamilials, and invasive lionfish, could result in pronounced competitive interactions with nGOM reef fishes, such as juvenile red snapper (L. campechanus), and cause shifts in the species composition of offshore fish assemblages.  We experimentally investigated the intensity of these interactions between increasingly abundant tropical snapper species, red lionfish, and indigenous members of the nGOM reef fish community.  Compared to tropical counterparts, red snapper demonstrated increased roving behavior, aggression, and predatory activity, suggesting greater ability to exploitatively outcompete lower latitude snappers.  However, lionfish were significantly more active than red snapper and range-shifting reef fishes, suggesting their potential to competitively displace nGOM fish species.  Our findings contribute to the assessment of the potential impacts of warming-related species shifts and marine invasions upon the nGOM reef-associated fish community.