Age, growth parameters and food composition of Invasive Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans L., 1758) in İskenderun Bay

Abstract

Age, growth parameters and food of Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758) Red lionfish were studied. A total of 254 lion fishes (P. volitans and Pterois miles) were collected from commercial drift net, angling fisheries and diving with hand net southern coast of the Iskenderun Bay between March 2018 and March 2019. 29.53% of sample was P. volitans. Age was determined by reading whole sagittal otoliths. Fish ranged from 14.2 to 35.3 cm in total length, which corresponded to fish between 1 to 7 years old. The sex ratio (1:1.07) was biased toward males (P<0.05). The length– weight relationships were W=0,0042×L3.3514 (R2=0,92) and W=0,0108×L3.0423 (R2=0,94) for females and males, respectively. Growth parameters were estimated using the standard von Bertalanffy growth model (K=0.1507, 64, L∞=47.58 cm and to =-2.0506 for combined sexes. The diet was composed of fishes and crustaceans.