Science

A Fish That’s Destroying Native Species Partially by Spitting? Here’s the Video

Pacific red lionfish, a non-native species to the Atlantic Ocean introduced in the 1980s, have decimated up to 90 percent of the abundance of native reef fishes in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic, according to Science Now.

With that in mind, scientists set out to understand the secret of this invasive predator. In studying the striped creature, Science Now reports, the researchers saw it exhibit behavior unseen in other fish to help disorient prey before attacking. What was it? Shooting them with puffs of water.

Red Lionfish Blows Puffs of Water to Disorient Prey

The researchers used a blue liquid to show the puffs of water being blown toward prey.

Watch evidence of the lionfish doing this from various camera angles in both a natural and aquarium setting (Note: The aquarium portion begins at 0:50 and shows the puffs of water more clearly):

It‘s not just the lionfish’s predation tactics that have made it such a successful invasive species. According the research by Mark Albins from Oregon State University and Patrick Lyons with SUNY at Stoney Brook, it also has strong defense mechanisms, including venomous dorsal, pelvic and anal fin spines. Its coloration and many projections off its main body could also help conceal it or warn predators to stay away.

The researchers did make the observation that small lionfish are more likely to use this puffing mechanism to disorient prey and those that are in the Pacific Ocean exhibit this behavior more than those in the Atlantic. The team believes this makes sense because those in the Atlantic may not have much in the way of competition to have to use a behavior that could require extra energy.

[H/T Huffington Post]

Comments (30)

  • KKC003
    Posted on March 5, 2012 at 5:52pm

    Dove all over the world and have seen animal life that is amazing. None of it does any damage to the ocean or divers.

    What damages are world are druggies, Socialist, lazy losers and greedy OWS who infect our cities with their BS.

    Report Post » KKC003  
  • kik1958
    Posted on March 3, 2012 at 7:55pm

    This actually is a very serious problem. It was created by some moron who dumped his salt water aquarium fish into the atlantic ocean. Sort of the same caliber as the moron scuba diver who says that this not an issue. It is not an act of God. And it is affecting our reef system. Ask any serious scuba diver and he/she will confirm the same feelings!!

    Report Post »  
    • FOUNDATIONER
      Posted on March 4, 2012 at 6:30pm

      Hey Kik, dig…
      Yes, there are lionfish, how they got there is debatable. SERIOUS PROBLEM? also debatable.
      All things are an act of GOD. Your post affects the reef system, by using power generated by
      oil/nuclear/gas. Your car affects the reef system by using fuel which required much energy to be
      collected/refined/transported/pumped into your car then burned releasing pollutants into the atmosphere and onto the ground (cat converter). You talking affects the reef system because it
      requires you to eat first which, well, see above. EVERYTHING EVERYBODY DOES affects the
      reef system, as well as every other system on this planet. One thing you must realize, in this world
      of instant satisfaction and instant communication, most people have lost sight of the fact that this
      is a PLANET, it is bigger than you can imagine, it has been here longer than you can imagine, and it
      will be here longer than you can imagine. Have FAITH, everything is gonna be fine and one day we
      will all be gone and the planet will live on. Right up until the sun goes red giant and the whole solar
      system is obliterated. Wow, even something as insignificant as the Sun affects the reef system,
      who’dve thunk it?!

      Don’t be so conceited everyone, you are but a flea on a BIG dog, and be happy, GOD is the
      dogs master.

      Report Post » FOUNDATIONER  
    • FOUNDATIONER
      Posted on March 4, 2012 at 7:29pm

      and all that said without calling you names, now THAT is an act of GOD.

      Report Post » FOUNDATIONER  
  • FOUNDATIONER
    Posted on March 3, 2012 at 4:37pm

    Decimated 90percent? I don’t think so. I just got back from a scuba diving trip in the caribe.
    There are lionfish, we spearfished and ate them, DELICIOUS. I guess that makes me a
    natural predator. I guess ALL those other fish I saw were just ghosts..ooooo scary.
    I’m not an “ologist” anything, but I dive the caribbean quite frequently and 90percent
    of the native fish are not gone. By the way, groupers love lionfish. just my 2 cents.

    Report Post » FOUNDATIONER  
  • Tifn8r
    Posted on February 29, 2012 at 12:07pm

    It’s not disorienting them. The puff of water feels like the current from the dorsal fin of a fish swimming away. The little fish is thinking – “Whew, I‘m glad he’s leav..”*GULP*

    Report Post » Tifn8r  
  • mcmueller
    Posted on February 29, 2012 at 11:10am

    OK, here’s the deal – When God set things up he was much smarter than any scientists or any of you; The Lionfish may decimate the reef specie, but then a funny thing will happen – their food supply will run out. When that happens, the excess Lionfish will STARVE and DIE…… then the original reef inhabitants will replenish their numbers, and there will be a balance between the reef fish and the Lionfish…… Gotta love Nature……

    Report Post »  
  • blueamerican
    Posted on February 29, 2012 at 11:10am

    To all of you who wrote about God….
    I am an Ichthyologist and Aquariest by trade. These things were let out by ignorant aquariest, just like the python problem in FL. It has nothing to do with god unless by that you mean his creation MAN was being stupid. These fish have no natural predators in this part of the world and will, if left unchecked, destroy the reefs in the Caribbean. They are breeding rapidly, eating rapidly, and spreading rapidly. They are already as far over as Antigua. So if you get stung next time on vacation in the ocean and are on your way to the hospital, think about what I said here today. There needs to be an all out fishing spree on these animals and we need to start learning to like “lion fish casserole” down here in the south!

    Report Post »  
    • JohnGaltsmentor
      Posted on February 29, 2012 at 11:30am

      God wasn’t stupid when he made me.

      What will the lion fish eat when the food runs out? Didn’t you learn about predator-prey ratios in school smart guy?

      Report Post »  
    • Tifn8r
      Posted on February 29, 2012 at 12:22pm

      Hey Blue -

      The lecture in your post was quite – er- instructive, but not at all relevant. You’re right about non-native species changing the ecology of the areas they are introduced into. No doubt about that.

      It’s unfortunate that you felt the need to “talk down” to people commenting on their admiration for God’s creations.

      You can be whatever kind of “-ologist” you like, and well done on absorbing all the information given to you by the people who learned it before you. That’s quite a task. Perhaps, and I say this with all sincerity, some study on humility and kindness would be in order.

      Then it’s quite possible that the information you are so eager to share would be better received.

      Report Post » Tifn8r  
    • blueamerican
      Posted on February 29, 2012 at 10:26pm

      so then your idea is to let the different splices die off due to over consumption by the rampant lion fish infestation? If it runs out of stuff to eat, what will be left to breed and repopulate like you say? What if like species are too few and far between to breed and they become extinct? All because people like you just said screw it and if it doesn’t effect your daily life then who the heck cares right? Obviously not a diver….next time you hear of someone going to dump these things in the ocean because it got too big for their 20 gallon tank, tell them the back yard is a better alternative! Oh and if you actually read…I didn’t call you stupid. I called the people that throw them in the ocean as stupid. But it looks like you just lumped yourself right in that category with them…..

      Report Post »  
    • Xpressed
      Posted on March 1, 2012 at 12:05am

      All the water is connected, there is really just one big body of water with some dirt in the middle of it.

      Report Post »  
  • airportengineer
    Posted on February 29, 2012 at 10:00am

    ????“INTRODUCED”???

    God will put his animals where there are meant to live to control other animals in the food chain, and the Earth. When will scientists STOP “introducing” animals, insects, and plants where God never intended them to be? Over and Over and Over again they find out years or decades later that it ruined other species, plants, etc. It’s just like those stupid Asian Beetles, Brown ladybugs! Those nasty bugs were never in our homes 30 years ago, but some moron had it in his head that they were suppose to control some native bugs here in North America. All they did was become a menace to home owners that have to use their vacuums to sweep the nasty smelling things up. That’s just 1 (ONE) example of these idiots doing something that God never intended!

    Report Post » airportengineer  
    • scuba13
      Posted on February 29, 2012 at 10:11am

      Scientists did not release the lionfish into the Carribean.

      Report Post » scuba13  
    • Ruler4You
      Posted on February 29, 2012 at 10:43am

      I’d be more interested in hearing and seeing the evidence that supports the claim that this “IS” an invasive species.

      Report Post » Ruler4You  
    • Stoic one
      Posted on February 29, 2012 at 10:57am

      Hey AIR….
      The correct term would be – DUMPED, by irresponsible pet owner.

      Report Post » Stoic one  
  • friendfor truth
    Posted on February 29, 2012 at 8:12am

    I personally do not believe that this fish is going to “destroy” a native species. The good Lord created our earth in a way that everything in nature naturally balances itself out. Why are scientists always looking for an angle to prove some ridiculous environmental threat theory?? They will do anything to create fear and cause people to “worry” that we are going to lose our “earth’s natural resources”. Relax and enjoy watching creation do what it was designed to do. It can take care of itself.

    Report Post »  
    • Goldwaterite
      Posted on February 29, 2012 at 9:25am

      Did you read the article? The lionfish is a non-native species. It was introduced by pet owners who released the lionfish into the Caribbean ecosystem. It has no natural predators and is a threat to the reef.

      Report Post »  
    • nelbert
      Posted on February 29, 2012 at 9:28am

      To FriendforTruth:

      Do you understand what an invasive species is?

      The Pacific Red Lionfish, native as the name implies to the Pacific, was first noted in the Atlantic in the early to mid 1990s (it is believed to have come from destruction by Hurricane Andrew of a large private aquarium belonging to a Biscayne Bay resident). This wasn’t a gradual, natural chain of events. This was a sudden jolt that other species were not ready for.

      Compare this to the spread of smallpox in the Americas after 1492 (or the Black Death in 1347 or the spread of syphilis from the new to the old world). Yes, after many deaths “nature naturally balances itself out.” The trick is not being one of the dead ones.

      In the Mediterranean, a species of seaweed native to Australia and Southern California called Caulerpa was accidentally released. The seaweed thrived in the temperate waters and has had a significant negative impact on fisheries – which, of course, impacts area economies as well as food availability.

      In short, it is in our best interest to not give Mother Nature too many puzzles to solve. She may be fine, but we may suffer greatly in the process.

      Report Post » nelbert  
    • scuba13
      Posted on February 29, 2012 at 10:14am

      The lionfish devestates the native fish populations. It has no predators in the Atlantic Ocean. We go on lionfish dives every Friday night to catch them, last Friday we brought up 35 of them. We take them and show the restaurants how to prepare lionfish fillets.

      Report Post » scuba13  
    • smallgovparty
      Posted on February 29, 2012 at 2:16pm

      Friend

      Thank you. I like you do not believe this will destroy the ecosystem. I remember when I was in 4th grade our school would have us read the Weekly Reader which was a magazine given to school kids to promote reading. One of the articles was about the killer bees, a genetically altered bee that is more aggressive and more territorial than normal bees. Once one stung you, more would come, and there was no hope ever getting away, everyone would die. This must have been about 1980 as I was born in 1970 and was probably 10 in fourth grade. So in 1980 they had just reached America and were being found in parts of Arizona and New Mexico and in five years they would spread across the entire North American Continent. I was so worried that I couldn’t sleep at night.

      If the World was so easy to destroy, someone would have done it a long time ago. This is a natural ebb and flow of a species.

      Report Post »  
  • Salamander
    Posted on February 29, 2012 at 7:36am

    Kind of like our POTUS–he blows smoke up your ‘you know what’ before he sucks you in for the kill and dinner!

    Report Post »  
  • lukerw
    Posted on February 29, 2012 at 7:26am

    Just great… Flordia idiots released some more of their pets…

    Report Post » lukerw  
    • scuba13
      Posted on February 29, 2012 at 10:15am

      It was idiots in the Bahamas that released them.

      Report Post » scuba13  
  • SoundStride
    Posted on February 29, 2012 at 7:25am

    Stupid fish just swallow don’t spit.

    Report Post » SoundStride  
  • SoundStride
    Posted on February 29, 2012 at 7:20am

    Just tell the Japanese that there a afrodisiac the’ll eat them all up.

    Report Post » SoundStride  
  • love the kids
    Posted on February 29, 2012 at 6:57am

    Reminds me of Pelosi and Reid, Blow a lot of smoke and hit them before they know what happened

    Report Post »  

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