Invasive predators have the capacity to dramatically alter marine ecosystems. The lionfish, a voracious predator native to the Indo-Pacific and now established along the southeast coast of the U.S., the Caribbean and parts of the Gulf of Mexico, has become a growing threat to the ecological balance of Atlantic waters. To gather insight regarding its impact on reef communities, scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and collaborating institutions evaluated the predatory behaviors and diet choices of lionfish in a semi-natural environment.
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Source: Phys.org