TOPTO BOTTOM: The R/V Cape Fear arrives at 

 the study site, Porta Allegra, where research divers 

 hunt for lion fish. • Divers pause to decompress before 

 they head to the surface. • Paula Whitfield shows 

 equipment used in a 30-minute dive. 



18 HOLIDAY 2004 



lionfish were introduced to Atlantic waters. 

 Nevertheless, all evidence points to aquarium 

 release, whether accidental or intentional, as the 

 likely source. 



Other common sources of invasive species 

 transportation are considered unlikely. "We re- 

 ally don't think it's ballast water," says Whitfield, 

 who knows of no reports of lionfish in water car- 

 ried in the hulls of shipping vessels for balance. 



SIGHTINGS SPAWN STUDIES 



Reports from divers and recreational fishers 

 now help researchers map the current distribution 

 of the lionfish. 



Since the summer 2000 sightings, reports 

 of lionfish have probably tripled, says Whitfield, 

 who maintains a Web site that tracks public 

 sightings of the creature. 



Also, scientists examining sites proposed 

 for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) found 

 lionfish in natural hardbottoms and reefs located 

 off South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia 

 and Florida, according to Andy David, research 

 fishery biologist for the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service. 



David encountered 15 lionfish during the 

 course of the NOAA-funded cruise last spring. 

 Relying on ROV equipment provided by NURC 

 at UNC-W, David gathered data beyond normal 

 diving depths — where lionfish are seen in 

 habitats up to 300 feet deep. 



"They were seen in each of the five areas 

 which have been proposed by the South Atlantic 

 Fishery Management Council as MPAs," David 

 says. 



Increased lionfish sightings by the public 

 and scientists stress the need to know more about 

 this invasive species. Thus, NOAA is conducting 

 both laboratory and field studies on the lionfish. 



Last summer, Whitfield and her team 

 visited 22 different sites within Onslow Bay, 

 ranging from 35 to 100 miles from Masonboro 

 Inlet near the NURC facility. 



By increasing understanding of the current 

 status and risk posed by the lionfish invasion, the 

 study is designed to predict the effect of lionfish 

 on native fish communities. 



The research goals are threefold: to 

 establish population data for comparison in 

 future studies; to characterize and examine what 

 role lionfish play in their habitat; and to predict 

 the distribution. 



"Basically, what niches are they filling in 



this habitat?" asks Whitfield. These "eco-roles" 

 will be characterized through information gath- 

 ered about the lionfish diet, its rank in the food 

 chain and its reproductive status. 



'We know they are predators. We don't 

 know exactly what they are preying on," says 

 Whitfield. "There is very little known about 

 even the most basic life history of lionfish. We're 

 basically starting from scratch." 



North Carolina is cited as the northern 

 limit for winter populations of lionfish due to the 

 warm Gulf Stream influence. To determine the 

 ultimate distribution, scientists need temperature 

 information from the ocean bottom and 

 knowledge of thermal tolerance of lionfish. 



'We really don't have a lot to compare this 

 particular invasion with," Whitfield says. 



The deep ocean is an open system with 

 a constant flux of organisms. In more closed 

 systems, such as a lake, invasive species can be 

 devastating. "There's a lot less known about ma- 

 rine invaders in general," Whitfield says of efforts 

 to determine effects on ocean ecosystems. 



The study continues through the winter, 

 with a focus on tagging the lionfish to increase the 

 geographic range of the research being done off 

 North Carolina. 



ABOARD THE RESEARCH VESSEL 



In the ocean, lionfish are sedentary and easy 

 to approach, even docile, when spear-wielding 

 divers are not aggravating them. "They mind their 

 own business and try to avoid you," explains Jay 

 Styron, a NURC diver aboard the Cape Fear. 



Nevertheless, lionfish are dangerous 

 predators — and stalking them with spears can be 

 unsafe, even for research divers. 



When Styron felt a lionfish spine puncture 

 his wrist while bagging his specimens, there 

 wasn't much he could do. 



"Underwater I saw him pumping his hand, 

 and I kept asking him 'Are you all right? Are you 

 all right?'" Whitfield recalls. 



Unlike a jellyfish sting, the pain is deeper, 

 "almost like a muscle bruise," Styron says. To 

 ease the pain, Styron covered his hand in heated 

 water. "It's an occupational hazard," he says. "You 

 just go down with the realization that you might 

 be stung." 



Lionfish stings outside of aquariums are 

 fairly rare, however, and Styron thinks he's 

 among the first stung by wild lionfish in U.S. 

 Atlantic waters. 



