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At least 883 records · Page 49Linked to original sources
USGS2015

Formulating the American Geophysical Union's Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics Policy: Challenges and lessons learned

Creating an ethics policy for a large, diverse geosciences organization is a challenge, especially in the midst of the current contentious dialogue in the media related to such issues as climate change, sustaining natural resources, and responding to natural hazards. In 2011, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) took on this challenge, creating an Ethics Task Force to update their ethics policies to better support their new Strategic Plan and respond to the changing scientific research environment. Dialogue with AGU members and others during the course of creating the new policy unveiled some of the following issues to be addressed. Scientific results and individual scientists are coming under intense political and public scrutiny, with the efficacy of the science being questioned. In some cases, scientists are asked to take sides and/or provide opinions on issues beyond their research, impacting their objectivity. Pressure related to competition for funding and the need to publish high quality and quantities of papers has led to recent high-profile plagiarism, data fabrication, and conflict of interest cases. The complexities of a continuously advancing digital environment for conducting, reviewing, and publishing science has raised concerns over the ease of plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, inappropriate peer review, and the need for better accessibility of data and methods. Finally, students and scientists need consistent education and encouragement on the importance of ethics and integrity in scientific research. The new AGU Scientific Integrity and Ethics Policy tries to address these issues and provides an inspirational code of conduct to encourage a responsible, positive, open, honest scientific research environment.

Book chapter↗
USGS2011

Habitat suitability of patch types: a case study of the Yosemite toad

Understanding patch variability is crucial in understanding the spatial population structure of wildlife species, especially for rare or threatened species. We used a well-tested maximum entropy species distribution model (Maxent) to map the Yosemite toad (Anaxyrus (= Bufo) canorus) in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Twenty-six environmental variables were included in the model representing climate, topography, land cover type, and disturbance factors (e.g., distances to agricultural lands, fire perimeters, and timber harvest areas) throughout the historic range of the toad. We then took a novel approach to the study of spatially structured populations by applying the species-environmental matching model separately for 49 consistently occupied sites of the Yosemite toad compared to 27 intermittently occupied sites. We found that the distribution of the entire population was highly predictable (AUC = 0.95±0.03 SD), and associated with low slopes, specific vegetation types (wet meadow, alpine-dwarf shrub, montane chaparral, red fir, and subalpine conifer), and warm temperatures. The consistently occupied sites were also associated with these same factors, and they were also highly predictable (AUC = 0.95±0.05 SD). However, the intermittently occupied sites were associated with distance to fire perimeter, a slightly different response to vegetation types, distance to timber harvests, and a much broader set of aspect classes (AUC = 0.90±0.11 SD). We conclude that many studies of species distributions may benefit by modeling spatially structured populations separately. Modeling and monitoring consistently-occupied sites may provide a realistic snapshot of current species-environment relationships, important climatic and topographic patterns associated with species persistence patterns, and an understanding of the plasticity of the species to respond to varying climate regimes across its range. Meanwhile, modeling and monitoring of widely dispersing individuals and intermittently occupied sites may uncover environmental thresholds and human-related threats to population persistence.

Frontiers of Earth Science↗
USGS1989

Late neogene history of the Pacific-Caribbean gateway

Planktic foraminiferal provinces of Caribbean DSDP Hole 502A and East Pacific DSDP Hole 503A have been analyzed and compared with benthic and planktic isotope records, carbonate, hiatus events, and sea level changes. Four major events are evident in the closure history of the Pacific-Caribbean gateway, at 6.2, 4.2, 2.4 and 1.8 Ma. The faunal change at 6.2 Ma coincides with the δ 13 C shift and is primarily caused by upwelling in the western Caribbean. This suggests restricted circulation of intermediate water and deflection northeastward, strengthening the Gulf Stream as reflected in the first major erosion on Blake Plateau. The second faunal change, at 4.2 Ma, coincides with increased surface water salinity evident in δ 18 O data and indicates increasingly restricted surface water exchange. Divergence of faunal provinces beginning at 2.4 Ma is marked by increasing abundance of high salinity tolerant species ( Globigerinoides ruber ) in the Caribbean. This suggests that initial closure of the Pacific-Caribbean gateway and cessation of sustained surface current flow between the Pacific and Caribbean occurred as late as 2.4 Ma. Maximum divergence of faunal provinces begins at 1.8 Ma and continues to the present. This implies that at least incipient littoral-neritic leakage occurred across the Pacific-Caribbean gateway between 2.4 and 1.8 Ma, with final closure by 1.8 Ma.

Journal of South American Earth Sciences↗
USGS2023

Climate change hotspots and implications for the global subsea telecommunications network

A global network of subsea telecommunications cables underpins our daily lives, enabling >95% of global digital data transfer, $trillions/day in financial trading, and providing critical communications links, particularly to remote, low-income countries. Despite their importance, subsea cables and their landing stations are vulnerable to damage by natural hazards, including storm surges, waves, cyclones, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions , submarine landslides and ice scour. However, the likelihood or recurrence interval of many of these types of events will likely change under future projected climate change scenarios, compounded by sea-level rise; potentially increasing hazard severity, creating previously unanticipated hazards, or hazards may shift to new locations during the 20–30-year operational life of cable systems. To date, no study has assessed the wide-reaching impacts of future climate change on subsea cables and landing stations on a global scale. Here, for the first time we synthesize the current evidence base, based on published peer-reviewed datasets, to fill this crucial knowledge gap, specifically to assess how and where future climate change is likely to impact subsea cables and their shore-based infrastructure. We find that ocean conditions are highly likely to change on a global basis as a result of climate change, but the feedbacks and links between climate change, natural processes and human activities are often complicated, resulting in a high degree of geographic variability. We identify climate change ‘hotspots’ (regions and locations likely to experience the greatest impacts) but find that not all areas will be affected in the same manner, nor synchronously by the same processes. We conclude that cable routes should carefully consider locally-variable drivers of hazard frequency and magnitude. Consideration should be given both to instantaneous events (e.g. landslides, tropical cyclones) as well as longer-term, sustained impacts (e.g. seabed currents that circulate even in deep water). Multiple factors can combine to increase the risk posed to subsea cables, hence a holistic approach is essential to assess the compounded effects of both natural processes and human activities in the future.

Earth Science Reviews↗
USGS2019

Data sharing in magnetotellurics

Here, we introduce the first openly available comprehensive database of magnetotelluric (MT) and related electromagnetic data that we developed and matured over the past decade, explain how to access the data, and describe the challenges that had to be overcome to make MT data sharing possible. The database is a helpful tool for MT scientists, and is widely used by the international scientific community in teaching, planning future surveys, and then to leverage the value of new data at the inversion and interpretation stage. It has also turned into a primary resource for researchers in space weather, and for power grid industry. MT impedance, a transfer function that relates geoelectric fields to geomagnetic fields at the Earth’s surface, provides a critical missing component for estimation of geomagnetically induced currents: quasi-direct currents caused by geomagnetic storms that can destroy valuable equipment and cause extended blackouts. We envision that this database will also be useful for researchers in other areas of geophysics, such as seismology, who would like to use real MT data for hands-on learning and joint inversion analysis.

Eos, Earth and Space Science News↗
USGS2010

Individual and colony-specific wintering areas of Pacific northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis)

Seabird mortality associated with longline fishing in the eastern Bering Sea occurs mainly from September to May, with northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) comprising the majority (60%) of the bycatch. Along the west coast of North America, winter dieoffs of fulmars may be increasing in frequency and magnitude, the most severe on record being a wreck that peaked in October-November 2003. We deployed satellite transmitters on fulmars from the four main Alaska colonies and tracked individuals for up to 2 years. Fulmars from Hall Island (northern Bering Sea) moved to Russian coastal waters after breeding, while Pribilof Island fulmars (southeastern Bering Sea) remained relatively sedentary yearround. Birds from Chagulak Island (eastern Aleutians) preferred passes between the Aleutian Islands in winter or foraged widely over deep waters of the central Bering Sea and North Pacific. Fulmars from the Semidi Islands (western Gulf of Alaska) migrated directly to waters of the California Current. Individuals from St. George Island (Pribilofs) and Chagulak were consistent in the places that they visited in two successive winters. The Pribilof Islands population is most affected by winter longlining for groundfish, whereas the Semidi Islands colony sustains most of the natural mortality that occurs off Washington, Oregon, and California.

Alaska↗
USGS2010

Landsat Thematic Mapper Image Mosaic of Colorado

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center (RMGSC) produced a seamless, cloud-minimized remotely-sensed image spanning the State of Colorado. Multiple orthorectified Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) scenes collected during 2006-2008 were spectrally normalized via reflectance transformation and linear regression based upon pseudo-invariant features (PIFS) following the removal of clouds. Individual Landsat scenes were then mosaicked to form a six-band image composite spanning the visible to shortwave infrared spectrum. This image mosaic, presented here, will also be used to create a conifer health classification for Colorado in Scientific Investigations Map 3103. An archive of past and current Landsat imagery exists and is available to the scientific community (http://glovis.usgs.gov/), but significant pre-processing was required to produce a statewide mosaic from this information. Much of the data contained perennial cloud cover that complicated analysis and classification efforts. Existing Landsat mosaic products, typically three band image composites, did not include the full suite of multispectral information necessary to produce this assessment, and were derived using data collected in 2001 or earlier. A six-band image mosaic covering Colorado was produced. This mosaic includes blue (band 1), green (band 2), red (band 3), near infrared (band 4), and shortwave infrared information (bands 5 and 7). The image composite shown here displays three of the Landsat bands (7, 4, and 2), which are sensitive to the shortwave infrared, near infrared, and green ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum. Vegetation appears green in this image, while water looks black, and unforested areas appear pink. The lines that may be visible in the on-screen version of the PDF are an artifact of the export methods used to create this file. The file should be viewed at 150 percent zoom or greater for optimum viewing.

Scientific Investigations Map↗
USGS2018

Flood-inundation maps for the Patoka River in and near Jasper, southwestern Indiana

Digital flood-inundation maps for a 9.5-mile reach of the Patoka River in and near the city of Jasper, southwestern Indiana (Ind.), from the streamgage near County Road North 175 East, downstream to State Road 162, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Transportation. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science web site at https://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/ , depict estimates of the areal extent and depth of flooding corresponding to selected water levels (stages) at the USGS streamgage Patoka River at Jasper, Ind. (station number 03375500). The Patoka streamgage is located at the upstream end of the 9.5-mile river reach. Near-real-time stages at this streamgage may be obtained from the USGS National Water Information System at https://waterdata.usgs.gov/ or the National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service at http://water.weather.gov/ahps/ , although flood forecasts and stages for action and minor, moderate, and major flood stages are not currently (2017) available at this site (JPRI3). Flood profiles were computed for the stream reach by means of a one-dimensional step-backwater model. The hydraulic model was calibrated by using the most current stage-discharge relation at the Patoka River at Jasper, Ind., streamgage and the documented high-water marks from the flood of April 30, 2017. The calibrated hydraulic model was then used to compute five water-surface profiles for flood stages referenced to the streamgage datum ranging from 15 feet (ft), or near bankfull, to 19 ft. The simulated water-surface profiles were then combined with a geographic information system digital elevation model (derived from light detection and ranging [lidar] data having a 0.98 ft vertical accuracy and 4.9 ft horizontal resolution) to delineate the area flooded at each water level. The availability of these flood-inundation maps, along with real-time stage from the USGS streamgage at the Patoka River at Jasper, Ind., will provide emergency management personnel and residents with information that is critical for flood response activities such as evacuations and road closures as well as for postflood recovery efforts.

Indiana↗
USGS2018

Flood-inundation maps for the Salamonie River at Portland, Indiana

Digital flood-inundation maps for a 6.5-mile reach of the Salamonie River at Portland, Indiana, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Transportation. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science website at https://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/ , depict estimates of the areal extent and depth of flooding corresponding to selected water levels (stages) at the USGS streamgage on the Salamonie River at Portland, Ind. (station 03324200). Near-real-time stages at this streamgage may be obtained from the USGS National Water Information System web interface at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN or from the National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (site PORI3) at https:/water.weather.gov/ahps/ . Flood profiles were computed for the stream reach by means of a one-dimensional step-backwater model. The model was calibrated using the current (2018) stage-discharge relation at the Salamonie River at Portland, Ind., streamgage. The hydraulic model then was used to compute nine water-surface profiles for flood stages at 1-foot (ft) intervals referenced to the streamgage datum and ranging from 10.7 ft or near bankfull to 18.7 ft, which equals the highest point on the streamgage rating curve. The simulated water-surface profiles then were combined with a geographic information system digital elevation model derived from light detection and ranging data having a 0.49-ft root mean square error and 4.9-ft horizontal resolution resampled to a 10-ft grid to delineate the area flooded at each stage. The availability of these maps, along with information regarding current stage from the USGS streamgage, will provide emergency management personnel and residents with information that is critical for flood response activities such as evacuations and road closures, as well as for postflood recovery efforts.

Indiana↗
USGS2001

From open to closed canopy: A century of change in Douglas-fir forest, Orcas Island, Washington

During the past century, forest structure on south-facing slopes of Mount Constitution, Orcas Island, Washington, has changed from open-grown Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) mixed with prairie to primarily closed canopy forest. Density of open-grown Douglas-fir was approximately 7 stems/ha in the 19th century, while current density of trees in closed-canopy mature forest is 426 stems/ha. Trees occur at intermediate densities in areas of transition from savanna-like stands to closed canopy. Analysis of fire scars indicates that at least seven fires have occurred on Mount Constitution since 1736, but only one fire has occurred since 1893, which suggests that the recent increase in stem density has been caused primarily by fire exclusion. The high stem densities currently found in this landscape put the relict (120-350+ years old) Douglas-fir at risk from contemporary fires, which would likely be high-intensity crown fires. Given the transition of forests on Orcas Island during the 20th century to closed canopy structure, undisturbed open-grown coniferous forest is now extremely rare in the San Juan Islands.

Northwest Science↗
USGS2015

Assessment of general health of fishes collected at selected sites in the Great Lakes Basin In 2012

During the past decade, there has been a substantive increase in the detection of “emerging contaminants”, defined as a new substance, chemical, or metabolite in the environment; or a legacy substance with a newly expanded distribution, altered release, or a newly recognized effect (such as endocrine disruption). Emerging contaminants include substances such as biogenic hormones (human and animal), brominated flame retardants, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, plasticizers, current use pesticides, detergents, and nanoparticles. These contaminants are frequently not regulated or inadequately regulated by state or Federal water quality programs. Information about the toxicity of these substances to fish and wildlife resources is generally limited, compared to more highly regulated contaminants, and some classes have been shown to cause affects (for example feminization of male fish, immunomodulation) that are not evaluated via traditional toxicity testing protocols. As a result, these compounds may pose a substantial, but currently poorly documented threat to aquatic ecosystems. Failure to identify and understand the impacts of these emerging contaminants on fish and wildlife resources may result in deleterious impacts to Great Lakes resources that can result in adverse ecological, economic and recreational consequences. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service received funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) for an Early Warning Program to detect and identify emerging contaminants and to evaluate the effects of these contaminants on fish and wildlife. The U.S. Geological Survey (WV Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and National Fish Health Research Laboratory, Leetown Science Center) developed and implemented a biological effects monitoring protocol to assist in this program. Fish collections and measurements of biomarkers of exposure in Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 occurred at individual sites within select Areas of Concern (AOCs). They provided an assessment of the utility of the suite of biomarkers and also identified sites for more in-depth analyses. Selected areas are characterized as areas with known emerging contaminants, sensitive or listed species, areas downstream from municipal wastewater discharges or receiving waters for industrial facilities, and/or areas susceptible to agricultural or urban contamination, or harbors or ports. The results of the 2010- 2011 studies were summarized in Blazer et al. 2014 a, b, c; Braham et al. in review and Blazer et al. in review.

Great Lakes↗
USGS1999

Estimation of environmental properties for inorganic compounds using LSER

The Great Lakes Science Center has devised values for inorganic species for use in the environmental property- predictive quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) Linear Solvation Energy Relationship (LSER). Property estimation has been difficult for inorganic species. In this presentation aqueous solubility, bioconcentration and acute aquatic toxicity are estimated for inorganic compounds using existing LSER equations. The best estimations arise from the most accurate description of predominant solution species, many within an order of magnitude. The toxicities also depend on an estimation of the bioactive amount and configuration. A number of anion/cation combinations (salts) still resist accurate property estimation, and the reasons currently are not understood. These new variable values will greatly extend the application and utility of LSER for the estimation of environmental properties.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2012

Reformatted data sets used in the Cooperative LACSD/USGS Palos Verdes Flow Study, 2000--2008

Beginning in 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defined a contaminated section of the Palos Verdes shelf in southern California as a Superfund site, initiating a continuing investigation of this area. A number of agencies, including the EPA, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), conducted two oceanographic measurement programs in 2004 and 2007-2008 (SAIC, 2004, 2005; Rosenberger and others, 2010; Sherwood and others, unpublished data) to improve our understanding of the natural processes that resuspend and transport sediment in the area, especially in the region southeast of the Whites Point ocean outfall where earlier measurements were thought to be deficient. Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (LACSD) deployed a simpler but much broader array of instruments on the Palos Verdes shelf and within the northern reaches of San Pedro Bay from 2000 to 2008 in order to characterize the current and temperature patterns within these regions. This program overlapped the two programs run by USGS and other agencies in 2004 and 2007. The LACSD data were made available to the USGS and the EPA in order to support their joint efforts to model the transport of the contaminated sediments in the region. This report describes the LACSD data sets, the instruments and data-processing procedures used, and the archive that contains the data sets that have passed our quality-assurance procedures.

California↗
USGS2016

Collapsing avian community on a Hawaiian island

The viability of many species has been jeopardized by numerous negative factors over the centuries, but climate change is predicted to accelerate and increase the pressure of many of these threats, leading to extinctions. The Hawaiian honeycreepers, famous for their spectacular adaptive radiation, are predicted to experience negative responses to climate change, given their susceptibility to introduced disease, the strong linkage of disease distribution to climatic conditions, and their current distribution. We document the rapid collapse of the native avifauna on the island of Kaua‘i that corresponds to changes in climate and disease prevalence. Although multiple factors may be pressuring the community, we suggest that a tipping point has been crossed in which temperatures in forest habitats at high elevations have reached a threshold that facilitates the development of avian malaria and its vector throughout these species’ ranges. Continued incursion of invasive weeds and non-native avian competitors may be facilitated by climate change and could also contribute to declines. If current rates of decline continue, we predict multiple extinctions in the coming decades. Kaua‘i represents an early warning for the forest bird communities on the Maui and Hawai‘i islands, as well as other species around the world that are trapped within a climatic space that is rapidly disappearing.

Science Advances↗
USGS2020

Planetary science decadal survey planetary mission concept study report: Ceres: Exploration of Ceres’ habitability

Dwarf planet Ceres is a compelling target as an evolved ocean world with, at least, regional brine reservoirs and potentially ongoing geological activity. As the most water-rich body in the inner solar system (in relative abundance), it is a representative of the population of planetesimals that brought volatiles and organics to the inner solar system. Situated in the Main Belt of asteroids, Ceres is accessible enough for a sample return with the resources of a typical medium-class (New Frontiers) NASA mission. Under the Discovery program, Dawn explored Ceres from 2015 to 2018. The extensive dataset revealed the presence of liquid, brine-driven activity, organic matter, and a rich salt chemistry. With this evidence, the overarching goals of the mission concept presented herein are to quantify Ceres’ current habitability potential and origin.

Cooperator Report↗
USGS2019

Measuring suspended sediment in sand-bedded rivers using down-looking acoustic doppler current profilers

The use of side-looking acoustic Doppler velocity meters (ADVMs) to estimate fluvial suspended-sediment concentrations (SSC) has become more operational by the U.S. Geological Survey in recent years; however, direct transfer of these techniques to down-looking acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) currently is not widely feasible. Key assumptions in the sidelooking ADVM method related to sediment homogeneity within the acoustic measurement volume are almost never met in wide, sand-bedded rivers because SSC and particle size commonly vary with depth and location in the river cross section. The use of ADCPs to estimate SSC has been investigated by researchers, but the requirements and limitations of an operational method that could be successfully applied at many locations are not well defined. If an operational method could be developed, the use of ADCPs, which are routinely used for flow measurements, would revolutionize sediment science by providing rapid measurements of sediment flux and spatial distribution. We collected detailed datasets in six sand-bedded rivers in the U.S. in 2016-2018, to evaluate the efficacy of using down-looking ADCPs of multiple frequencies to estimate SSC. The datasets included replicate sets of point and depth-integrated suspended-sediment samples and stationary and cross-sectional backscatter profiles using multiple ADCPs with differing frequencies. Reasonable calibrations were developed at all sites measured when calibrating to the coarse fraction (R2 0.66 to 0.98 with slopes close to 0.1 using 1200kHz ADCPs). Calibrations to the fines fraction were problematic because acoustic backscatter response was dominated by coarse particles when present, and substantial attenuation was contributed by coarse particles at some sites. A sensitivity analysis on minimum datasets showed that good calibrations could be developed using two verticals of data collected over a range of backscatter and sediment conditions, with a minimum of three points sampled for sediment within each vertical. Overall, results to date show great promise in using ADCPs to rapidly estimate and visualize SSC with high spatial resolution, and a new beta software tool called Sediment Transect Acoustics simplifies data processing. Improvements are underway to the beta software used in processing to allow incorporation of more acoustic and sediment characteristics and to estimate SSC in areas of the river cross section unmeasured by the ADCP.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2020

Looking forward, looking back: Building resilience today community report: Iliamna, AK

The Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center (AK CASC), in partnership with the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association (APIA), designed the Looking Forward, Looking Back: Building Resilience Today project as a series of trainings and workshops with tribal community leadership and members to collaboratively develop the western science knowledge and Indigenous knowledge to assist with adaptation planning. The project had three phases related to its title and structure. The first and last phase included two training sessions held at the International Arctic Research Center in Fairbanks, Alaska at the beginning and near the end of the project. The project team also traveled to the partner communities and held a series of onsite events with community members to develop locally-relevant information and contextualize climate science tailored to the needs and conditions of each community. This report represents the community information shared during those onsite events. The Meeting Announcement included in this report shows the date and descrip- tion of the outreach event. To support the community teams with engaging their leadership and community members on climate issues and planning, the project team visited each of the five communities, Iliamna, St. Michael, Kotlik, Kwigillingok and Quinhagak, and held a series of events. The purpose of these events were to: 1) facilitate mapping of a Traditional Use Area to refine an area for climate projections, 2) construct current and past seasonal Subsistence Calendars to identify important species and times of the year, 3) document Indigenous and local knowledge from current community members about environmental changes they have observed over their lifetimes, and 4) assist with documenting what the community perceived to be climate-related issues through photos and interviews. The agenda of the visits was co-produced with the community team. In each community, the community team and the project team hosted an open-to-the-public meeting and met with various groups. The community team advertised the meetings by posting community fliers, making announcements on the community radio, and reaching out to individuals that would contribute to the engagement discussions. Each community meeting focused on activities to develop the Traditional Use Area Mapping, the seasonal Subsistence Calendars and documenting observed environmental changes. Community members spent time at stations dedicated to each of these activities. The project team also met with various groups of individuals that included village corporation, tribal council, and city representatives where additional information about observed environmental changes was gathered.

Alaska↗
USGS2019

Life history, genetics, range expansion and new frontiers of the lionfish (Pterois volitans, Perciformes: Pteroidae) in Latin America

Pterois volitans (lionfish) is a midsize predatory fish commonly found in waters of the western Pacific and Indian Ocean. The species was first documented in Dania Beach, Florida (northwestern Caribbean) in 1985. Since that time the species has expanded its range rapidly to the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea. Since its introduction P. volitans has changed community structure and biodiversity of Caribbean reef communities and other coastal tropical ecosystems. Continuous introductions (accidental or intentional), limited natural predators, naïve-range prey behavior, high predation rates on competitors, continuous reproduction, and an extended period of larval dispersal have been the keys for successful invasion and rapid range extension of P. volitans . This invasion has become so severe that it has been recognized as one of the world’s top conservation issues. Here, we review the life history, behavior, and historical and contemporary genetic patterns that facilitate expansion and the colonization process. A greater understanding of lionfish biology, ecology, and the changes related to its present condition as a super-invader could improve current and future management strategies and new detection and response methodologies. We also examine new invasion frontiers that this species has the potential to colonize such as the eastern Pacific. This information will provide managers, the scientific community, and the civil society better tools for eradication, control and management of future invasions of this and other invasive species.

Caribbean Sea, Latin America↗