Diet of invasive lionfish on hard bottom reefs of the Southeast USA: insights from stomach contents and stable isotopes 

 -  Marine Ecology Progress Series, 432, p.181-193, 2011 .
<br/><br/> The Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles complex)has become widely established along the United States Southeast coast and continues to colonize the Caribbean, yet its biology and ecology is only beginning to be understood. We used stomach contents and stable isotope analyses to determine the diet of lionfish in the warm-temperate hard bottom reef community in the Southeast US Atlantic Ocean. During June to August 2004 and 2006, we collected lionfish with SCUBA from 18 different locations in Onslow Bay, North Carolina, at depths of 30 to 45 m. In 2006, we also conducted visual surveys of small benthic fishes to estimate the abundances of potential prey. Analyses of stomach contents (n = 183)and stable isotopes (n = 115)suggest a generalist carnivorous diet, and prey categories were predominately fish (~99 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>MARINE INVASION<br/>ROCKY REEF<br/>SCORPAENIDAE<br/>WARM TEMPERATE<br/>CONTINENTAL SHELF<br/>PISCIVORY<br/>DIET<br/>PREY