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Author: Fails, Danielle
Email: daniellefails@shsu.edu
Phone: 936-661-0093
Organization: Sam Houston State University, TRIES
Address:
2424 Sam Houston Ave ,
Huntsville,
Texas ,
77341
Abstract Title: PARASITE RICHNESS AND ABUNDANCE IN PTEROIS VOLITANS ALONG THE GULF OF MEXICO. Danielle Fails*, Dr. Autumn Smith-Herron, Texas Research Institute for Environmental Studies, Sam Houston State University, and Dr. Michelle Johnston, Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, Galveston, TX.
Abstract Text: Invasive species are known to be detrimental to both the economy as well as to environmental stability. One of the most successful invaders to date is the red lionfish, Pterois volitans, which first invaded the western hemisphere around 30 years ago. In this short amount of time, the lionfish has decimated native fish populations at a rate of roughly 7,500 lbs. per acre per year. Not only are these fish extremely efficient hunters, but they have no natural predators and seem to be fairly resistant to parasitism. To date, few species of parasites have been found in lionfish and studies show that even when infected, lionfish display no negative host effects due to the presence of parasites. With such low susceptibility to parasitism, the lionfish have been able to establish populations along the length of the Gulf of Mexico as well as the Caribbean and northern parts of South America. Early results indicate a prevalence of 0% in lionfish collected from sites in Florida and Texas. Using these preliminary results and the hypotheses on parasite transmission mechanisms, our hope is to achieve a better understanding as to the mechanism that is contributing to the success of the invasive lionfish. We hope to achieve this by collecting data along the Gulf of Mexico, and then expand our research eastward along the Atlantic Coast. The expansion of the project may also open opportunities for parasitism research following geographic distribution, climate effects, and natural predator influences.
Conference
Year: TIPPC_2016
Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
Presenter Type (Student or Regular): Student
Session: 4. Research
Submission Date: 2016-01-22
