Lionfish (Pterois sp.) invade the upper bathyal zone in the western Atlantic

Invasive lionfish have been widely recorded throughout the western Atlantic on both shallow and mesophotic reefs, where they have been linked to declines in reef health. In this study we report the first lionfish observations from the deep sea (>200 m) in Bermuda and Roatan, Honduras, with lionfish observed to a maximum depth of 304 m off the Bermuda platform, and 250 m off West End, Roatan. Placed in the context of other deeper lionfish observations and records, our results imply that lionfish may be found more widely in the 200-300 m depth range of the upper bathyal zone across the western Atlantic, but currently are severely underreported. We highlight the need for considering deep-sea lionfish populations in future invasive lionfish management.

Data and Resources

Field Value
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publisher U.S. Geological Survey
publisher_hierarchy Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
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Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • amerigeo
  • amerigeoss
  • bermuda
  • ckan
  • geo
  • geoss
  • honduras
  • invasive-species
  • national
  • north-america
  • united-states
  • usgs-59244c9ee4b0b7ff9fb27227
isopen False
license_id notspecified
license_title License not specified
maintainer Dominic A Andradi-Brown
maintainer_email dominic.andradi-brown@zoo.ox.ac.uk
metadata_created 2025-11-20T03:51:20.882743
metadata_modified 2025-11-20T03:51:20.882747
notes Invasive lionfish have been widely recorded throughout the western Atlantic on both shallow and mesophotic reefs, where they have been linked to declines in reef health. In this study we report the first lionfish observations from the deep sea (>200 m) in Bermuda and Roatan, Honduras, with lionfish observed to a maximum depth of 304 m off the Bermuda platform, and 250 m off West End, Roatan. Placed in the context of other deeper lionfish observations and records, our results imply that lionfish may be found more widely in the 200-300 m depth range of the upper bathyal zone across the western Atlantic, but currently are severely underreported. We highlight the need for considering deep-sea lionfish populations in future invasive lionfish management.
num_resources 2
num_tags 12
title Lionfish (Pterois sp.) invade the upper bathyal zone in the western Atlantic