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Invasive lionfish ( Pterois volitans/miles complex) now permeate the entire tropical western Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico, but lionfish abundance has been measured only in select locations in the field. Despite its rapid range expansion, a comprehensive meta-population analysis of lionfish 'sources' and 'sinks' and consequentially the invader's potential abundance and impacts on economically important, sympatric reef fishes have not been assessed. These data are urgently needed to spatially direct control efforts and to plan for and perhaps mitigate lionfish-caused damage. Here, we use a biophysical computer model to: (1) forecast larval lionfish sources and sinks that are also delineated as low to high lionfish 'density zones' throughout their invaded range, and (2) assess the potential vulnerability of five grouper and snapper species- Epinephelus morio, Mycteroperca microlepis, Epinephelus flavolimbatus, Lutjanus campechanus, and Rhomboplites aurorubens-to lionfish within these density zones in the Gulf of Mexico. Our results suggest that the west Florida shelf and nearshore waters of Texas, USA, and Guyana, South America, function both as lionfish sources and sinks and should be a high priority for targeted lionfish control. Furthermore, of the five groupers and snappers studied, the high fishery value E. morio (red grouper) is the Gulf of Mexico species most at risk from lionfish. Lacking a comprehensive lionfish control policy, these risk exposure data inform managers where removals should be focused and demonstrate the risk to five sympatric native groupers and snappers in the Gulf of Mexico that may be susceptible to dense lionfish aggregations, should control efforts fail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local fisher knowledge is an important source of information for the adjustment of environmental baselines relative to anthropogenic impacts on marine ecosystems. This knowledge is also susceptible to the shifting baseline syndrome. Four generations of fishers neighbouring a marine park in Eastern Brazil, were surveyed regarding the conservation status of nine reef fish species. Shifts in environmental baselines were detected among fisher generations. Fishers older than 50 years not only caught larger individual fish, but catches of large fish occurred four decades ago, suggesting that bigger fish are in decline in the region. Of nine reef fish species, seven exhibited significant declining catch trends based on information provided by fishers. Such declining status was not reported by all informants of younger generations, so the ability to identify such species increases significantly with fisher age. The fish species most cited as overexploited were Mycteroperca bonaci (Poey), Epinephelus morio (Valenciennes) and Ocyurus chrysurus ( Bloch), emphasising that special attention should be given to the management and conservation of these species in Eastern Brazil. These results also showed that knowledge acquired by elder fishers (> 50 years old) can provide valuable insights into the conservation status of reef fish and the adjustment of environmental baselines for proper management of a marine park. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights the activity of five exploited snapper-grouper species in the diverse coral reef habitat of Dry Tortugas, Florida. Among those included in the study conducted by the authors were red grouper Epinephelus morio, yellowtail snapper Ocyurus chrysurus and mutton snapper Lutjanus analis. The authors disclosed that movement of black groupers were small and infrequent while muttons like to make short and frequent movements. They also discovered that there were relatively small home ranges for red grouper, black grouper and yellowtail snapper.

In this article, we consider the potential effects of anthropogenic disturbances on marine fish species known or suspected to be habitat engineers. The three species of interest inhabit different marine habitats at different life stages, and therefore can have significant influences across the sea floor at broad spatial scales. The primary species include the shallow-water Atlantic goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara), which inhabits mangrove root systems as juveniles, and caves, shipwrecks, and rocky reefs as adults; red grouper (E. morio), which excavates habitat throughout its benthic life in Karst regions of the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic, from the coast to the shelf-edge; and tilefish (Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps), a species that lives on the continental slope and constructs elaborate, pueblo-esque burrows. The anthropogenic disturbances of greatest interest in the Gulf of Mexico include fishing, hypoxia, red tide, oil and gas exploration, and climatic change. We suggest that to understand the broader effects of both natural and anthropogenic disturbances on biomass and productivity in these species requires that we first understand the strength of interactions between them and the other species residing within their communities (e.g., predators, prey, commensals, and mutualists). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]