Site fidelity and movement patterns of invasive lionfish, Pterois spp., in a Florida estuary

Understanding how individuals within a population of invasive organisms disperse during various life history stages has obvious implications for long termpopulation dynamics in the invaded range.With the rapid expansion of the invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans and Pteroismiles)in the western Atlantic and Caribbean, it has become increasingly important to understand how individuals move following initial recruitment, as this may have critical implications for population control and management. We conducted a 10-month mark-recapture study in the lower Loxahatchee River estuary (Florida, USA)to identify movement patterns and site fidelity in juvenile and young adult lionfish. We tagged 55 lionfish, ranging in size from 45 to 185 mm standard length (66- 256 mm total length). Eighty percent of the tagged fish were recaptured at least one time during the course of the study. Lionfish in this system exhibited extremely high site fidelity over extended periods of time and across multiple size classes. Maximum range occupied by individuals along the shoreline of the estuary was small (mean=28 m, asymmetrical 95