Life History Differences in Invasive Lionfish Pterois volitans/ Pterois miles from Two Regions of Florida

Lionfish have invaded the Western Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico at an unprecedented rate, with substantial negative effects on native ecosystems. To estimate the effort needed to reduce the deleterious impacts of lionfish populations, removal models rely on accurate life history inputs. Life history information for lionfish is sparse in their invaded range, and parameters likely vary regionally like many other marine fishes. To quantify life history parameters of lionfish populations, lionfish were collected from two biogeographically different regions (northeast Florida n=3,949, southeast Florida n=651) in coordination with derby events. Population size structure was analyzed using statistical length-based modeling. The model predicted length frequency distribution from von Bertalanffy growth function parameters, variance of lionfish total length-at-age and the proportion of the population in each age class. The best fit model determined by AIC indicated that a seasonal growth pattern was not evident in either region, but that growth rates were different in southeast (K=0.70) and northeast Florida (K=0.47). These differences likely result from a combination of environmental, biological, and ecological factors and suggest that life history parameters should be collected at a high spatial scale for accurate modeling of population growth and removal strategies for this species.