Abundance of the invasive lionfish Pterois volitans in the coastal coral reefs from Colombian Caribbean

Abstract

The abundance of the invasive lionfish Pterois volitans was assessed through visual censuses conducted in 2015 and 2016 at 54 sites in six localities with coral reefs across the Colombian Caribbean coast. The invader was observed across locations and in most of the dives, with sighting frequency of 88 %, abundance values from 0 to 9.7 ± 2.1 ind/250 m2 (388 ind/ha), and 0.8 ± 1.3 ind/250 m2 (32 ind/ha) as total mean. The average density was similar to values reported in other works that counted lionfish in a broad spatial scale on the invaded area and the highest value approximated the maximum density estimated in Colombia and other locations around the Caribbean.