Lionfish

Lindsay Anderson & Tyler Rush

Background Info and Facts

Lionfish Information
What do Lionfish look like?
They have red and white stripes with a tall row of venomous spines down their backs. Their
huge, quill like spines fan out, looking sort of like lions mane. They can be the size of a football
when their fins are fanned out. The largest lionfish can grow to about 15 inches long, but the
average size is about one foot.
Where did they come from?
Lionfish are native to the Indian and Pacific and Indian Oceans, but in the past few years they
have spread up the Eastern seaboard and throughout the Caribbean. Lionfish have become a real
nuisance and threat in the Bahamian waters. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashed an aquarium
tank in Florida, sending about a half-dozen spiny, venomous lionfish into the Atlantic Ocean.
This triggered a population explosion and an invasion which has the potential to kill off local
industry along with the native fish.
Why are they a threat?
Lionfish are known for their venomous spines, rapid colonization rate, and generalist preferences
for both habitat and diet. Invasive lionfish are capable of causing significant impacts to
biodiversity and recovery of coral reefs, a result of their high densities and predation rates on
native fish communities. The explosion of Indo-Pacific lionfish is not only a serious threat to
Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coral reefs but there is also potential long-term
consequences affecting native fish communities and habitats. The lionfish can eat the native
coral fish and that could potentially collapse the commercial fishing industry that is so important
to the Bahamian economy. Lionfish can kill three-quarters of a reefs fish population in just five
weeks.
Response to the Threat:
Since marine predators and parasites are not drawn to feeding on lionfish, the best hope for
slowing the spread may be humans. The fish are a delicacy in Asia, but not in the Bahamas. The
spine of a lionfish can inflict a painful sting, as well as cause nausea and breathing difficulties
and lionfish devour colorful reef fish, sending tourist divers elsewhere. The National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) approved a National Marine Sanctuary Act or protection
mandate to maintain the natural biological communities in the national marine sanctuaries, and
to protect, and, where appropriate, restore and enhance natural habitats, populations, and
ecological processes. The plan summarizes the information on the scope and status of the
lionfish invasion, the threats posed to national marine sanctuaries, and the challenges to
managing the invasion. It also summarizes current actions taking place and calls for action to
come to minimize the impacts caused by the invasion. In addition, there are efforts to teach
Bahamians to catch and cook lionfish, and even a few restaurants serve lionfish now.

Facts about Lionfish

Common names: lionfish, zebrafish, firefish, turkeyfish, red lionfish, butterfly cod, ornate
butterfly-cod, peacock lionfish, red firefish, scorpion volitans, devil firefish
Scientific Name: Pterois volitans (red lionfish) and Pterois miles (devil firefish)
Biological Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia (all the animals)
Phylum: Chordata (animals with a spinal cord)
Subphylum: Vertebrata (animals with backbones)
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Order: Scorpaenidae (firefishes, goblinfishes, rockfishes, and scorpionfishes)
Genus: Pterois (lionfishes, turkeyfishes, and zebrafishes)
Species: volitans (meaning volatile or poinsonous)
Identification: distinctive brown or maroon and white stripes or bands covering the head and
body; fleshy tentacles above their eyes and below the mouth; fan-like pectoral fins; long,
separated dorsal spines; 12 dorsal spines; 10-11 dorsal soft rays; 3 anal spines; and 6-7 anal soft
rays. An adult lionfish can grow as large as 18 inches, while juveniles may be as small as 1 inch
or less. Lionfish have cycloid scales.
Native Region: The South Pacific and Indian Oceans (i.e., the Indo-Pacific region) mostly.
Non-native Range: Lionfish have been reported along the southeastern United States coast from
Florida to North Carolina. Juvenile lionfish have been collected in waters off Long Island, New
York, and Bermuda. Lionfish are a popular marine ornamental fish and were possibly
intentionally released in the Atlantic. The first lionfish was reported in South Florida waters in
1985 with many additional sightings occurring until they were documented as established in the
early 2000s.
Habitat: found in mostly warm marine waters of the tropics; Lionfish have been found in water
depths from 1 to 1000 feet on hard bottom, mangrove, seagrass, coral, and artificial reefs (like
shipwrecks).
Ecological Role: Lionfish are slow-moving and conspicuous, so they must rely on their unusual
coloration and fins to discourage would be predators from eating them. Lionfish are now one of
the top predators in many coral reef environments of the Atlantic. Lionfish consume over 50
species of fish including some economically and ecologically important species. Lionfish are
active hunters who ambush their prey by using their outstretched, fan-like pectoral fins to slowly
pursue and corner them.

Behavior: Lionfish are thought to be nocturnal hunters, but they have been found will full
stomachs during the day in the Atlantic. They move about slowly undulating the soft rays of the
dorsal and anal fins. During the day, the sometimes retreat to ledges and crevices among the
rocks and corals. Although in the Atlantic, lionfish are often seen moving about during the day,
both alone and in small groups.
Economic Importance: Although lionfish have been used as a food source in their native range,
economically, they are far more important in the aquarium trade. Lionfish are very popular and
common aquarium fish, especially in the U.S.
Conservation Status: Lionfish are not currently listed as threatened or endangered in their
native range. However, the increase in pollution in coral reefs may negatively affect the lionfishs
primary food sources (crustaceans and fish). If lionfish are unable to adapt to declines in their
prey species, they numbers may decrease.
Special Precautions: The spines of this species deliver a venomous sting that can last for days
and cause extreme pain, sweating, respiratory distress, and even paralysis. Lionfish venom
glands are located within two grooves of the spine. The venom is a combination of protein, a
neuromuscular toxin and neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. After the spine punctures the
skin, the venom enters the wound when exposed to the venom glands within the grooves of the
spine. If you are stung by a lionfish, seek medical attention immediately.
Fun Facts about Lionfish:

Lionfish have been known to be aggressive toward humans.

Some nicknames for lionfish include scorpion fish, turkey fish, and dragon fish.
Because they are so beautiful and cool looking they are very popular aquarium fish.
Nicknames for some other species of lionfish include the feathery, the fu-manchu, the dwarf, and
the radial.
In some countries people eat lionfish and they are considered a delicacy.
It is a relatively solitary animal only meeting up with other lionfish to mate.
Females lay several thousand eggs. The eggs hatch in a few days and the babies, called fry, live
near the surface until they are big enough to swim down to the reef area.

Resources:
Ducksters: Animals for Kids- Lionfish: http://www.ducksters.com/animals/lionfish.php
National Marine Sanctuaries Response Plan:
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/conservation/lionfish15.html
NPR: Spreading Lionfish Invasion Threatens Bahamas:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111695369
National Geographic- Lionfish: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/lionfish/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Lionfish Biology Fact Sheet:
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/stories/lionfish/factsheet.html

Student Centered and Inquiry Based Activities

Activity 1
Students will be playing an Invasive Species Survival game. Students are in groups of 5 and
each student is assigned a species with one student being the invasive species, lionfish.
Objectives:
Students will explain that resources are limiting factors in an ecosystem.
Students will discuss the impact that invasive organisms have on the balance of an
ecosystem and how they can out-compete native species for available resources.
Materials (per group):
5 cups
2 plastic knives, 2 plastic forks, 1 plastic spoon
4 large binder clips
10 red pom-poms, 12 black pom-poms, 10 white pom-poms
1 large piece of felt like material
25 life counters
Species cards
Plan:
1. Each member of the group will be designated as one of the 5 organisms: Pinfish, Great
Blue Heron, Loggerhead Sea Turtle, King Mackerel, and Lionfish. The Lionfish will
begin play in the 4th round.
2. Each person will grab the appropriate feeding utensil: pinfish eats only white pom-poms
using 2 knives, the great blue heron eats white and red pom-poms with 1 fork, the
loggerhead sea turtle eats black pom-poms using 1 spoon, and the king mackerel eats
black and red pom-poms using 1 fork. The lionfish can eat anything and uses a binder
clip.
3. Distribute the pom-poms onto the mat. Each person should obtain their utensils, a cup,
and 3 life counters.
4. Each round consists of 30 seconds of eating. The first 3 rounds will be native species
only. After the 3rd round, the lionfish will enter and the group will play 4 more rounds.
5. The player will use their utensil to place their food into their cup.
6. At the end of each round, each fish needs 5 pom-poms to survive. They lose a life counter
if they do not have 5. For every 3 pom-poms that a student obtains after 5, an offspring
occurs. For every offspring, the student gets an extra life counter.
7. If a student loses all their lives, they become a lionfish.
Notes:
Players whose species die become Lionfish.
Assessment:
After playing the game twice, the students will discuss their findings using the following
questions:
What resources might the pom-poms have represented?
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Were you able to compete with the invasive species for resources to survive?
Why was the Lionfish successful?
What consequences could an organism have over native species when entering an
ecosystem?
Students will discuss these questions in their groups and write the answers in their science
journal.

Activity 2
Students will create a food web of an ecosystem where a lionfish might invade.
Objectives:
Students will create a food web of an aquatic ecosystem.
Students will evaluate how the introduction of the lionfish will affect the ecosystem.
Materials:
String
Coat hanger
Pictures of plants and animals
Scissors
Glue
Plan:
1. After discussing an aquatic ecosystem, students will use the pictures of animals and
plants to create a food web of that ecosystem.
2. Students will discover which animals/plants are on the top of the food chain and use the
hanger and string to create their food web.
3. Students will complete their food chain by writing producer, consumer, carnivore,
herbivore, or omnivore on the pictures.
4. The teacher will then lead a discussion on what would happen if a lionfish was
introduced to the ecosystem.
Notes:
Be sure to discuss the definitions of invasive species, producer, consumer, omnivore, etc.
Assessment:
Students will complete the following questions in their science journal after the discussion:
What is a producer? Give an example of a producer from your food web.
What is a consumer? Give an example of a consumer from your food web.
How do invasive species affect the environment?
What would happen to an ecosystem if the primary producers were removed?
What would happen to the ecosystem if the apex predator was removed?

Activity 3
Students will conduct an experiment to simulate neutralizing a venom by denaturing a protein
using the egg whites as an example.
Objectives:
Students will identify that venoms are a protein that can be denatured through special
techniques including heat treatment.
Students will conduct an experiment to demonstrate how proteins such as venoms can be
denatured.
Background Information:
Toxicologists report that venoms represent some of the most complex chemical compounds in
nature. There are many fish species with spines capable of injecting venom. This ability is nearly
always a protective mechanism, but is occasionally used for incapacitating prey. The spines may
be concealed, as in the stonefish, or displayed, as in the lionfish, as a warning to predators. Many
venoms are actually proteins and as such can be denatured through special techniques including
heat treatment.
Materials:
Raw eggs
Glass beakers
Table spoons
Heated water
compresses
Plan:
1. Break an egg into a beaker and remove the yolk using a table spoon. (Tilt the beaker in
order to make removal easier).
2. Save the white in the beaker. This white, a protein compound, will be sued to represent
the venom of a marine animal.
3. Now, using volunteers from among the students, carefully pour the venom onto the
backs of hands or arms. (These limbs are the ones most commonly envenomated during
accidental contact with marine animals).
4. After soaking the compresses in hot water (not scalding!) apply the hot compresses to the
envenomated areas. After a few moments, remove the compresses and observe the
results. What has happened to the venom? Is it now more readily removed from the
limb?
Notes:
What the students have succeeded in demonstrating is the recommended treatment for a marine
envenomation. Most fish venoms, being proteins, are readily denatured by the application of
heat. In much the same way the egg white solidifies when heated, venoms coagulate under heat
treatment. This coagulation inhibits their circulation under the skin, in the case of punctures by
spines or injections by fangs, and allows their ready removal in the case of surface stings such as
delivered by jellyfish and corals and if slight enough, possibly lionfish.
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Assessment:
Venomous animals are common among insects, fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. Assign students
into groups for each of the four groups of animals mentioned in the first sentence. Let each
student choose an example or examples from these groups to report on. (Allow up to one week
for library or other research.) Have students consider the potency of venoms, how the animals
deliver them, and what their purposes are.

Activity 4
Students will act out scenes from books about life on the coral reef. Each student will play a
different animal, plant, or the sun and people.
Objectives:
Students will act out scenes about life on a coral reef.
Students will examine how each organism affects other organisms in an environment.
Materials:
Coral Reef: A City That Never Sleeps, by Mary M. Cerullo (Cobblehill Books, New
York, 1996).
Where the Waves Break: Life at the Edge of the Sea, by Anita Malnig (Carolrhoda
Books, Inc., Minneapolis, 1985).
Coral Reefs, by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House, New York, 2007). Picture book format
with paintings instead of photographs.
Tags with names and pictures of organism, sun, and people that are able to wear around
the students necks
A ball of yarn
Plan:
1. To begin, the teacher will review what an ecosystem is and what they have been talking
about in the previous lessons.
2. The teacher will assign all students a part from one of the three books that will be read to
the class about the coral reef ecosystem. Each student will create a movement or gesture
that represents their organism.
3. After reading through the stories, ask the following questions:
What happens as fish eat the algae?
What happens if the lionfish eats some of the algae-eating fish?
What happens to the algae if fewer fish are nibbling on it?
What happens if the water gets polluted and dirty?
What happens if the sun makes the water too warm?
If there is too much stress on the corals, pieces of coral die and break off. How does
that affect the other organisms?
Add people to the equation. How do they affect the reef and the organisms?
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4. Have students act these questions out and then explain why they acted the question out in
the particular manner.
Notes:
Stop during questioning and after students have acted out the question and ask students why they
acted it out that way.

Activity 5
Students will conduct a mathematics experiment similar to the way mathematicians estimate
population density. Students will guess the number of pennies/buttons without having to count
every one of them. This process, while here applied to general fish in the sea could be used to
estimate the population density of lionfish.
Objectives:
Students will identify that the number of fish that live within limited areas is called
population density.
Students will estimate the total number of objects in the jar using the formula (A x B)/C=
approximate number of objects in jar.
Background Information:
Some scientists believe that there is a growing shortage of fish in the sea. They believe
the reason is that we have captured too many fish. This is called "overfishing." To help prevent
overfishing, government has to set limits, called "quotas", on how many fish fishermen can catch
in a year. In order to decide on quotas, the government needs to know the total number of fish
that live there. They rely on scientists to find out.
But how can scientists tell? They couldn't possibly count every fish, especially when they
can't see them all. The ocean is so big and fish spend all of their time underwater!
The truth is, scientists don't count every animal. Instead, they count some of the animals,
then make an estimate using basic math.
Scientists are especially interested in the number of fish that live within limited areas.
This is called the "population density." For example, scientists believe that, at certain times of the
year, certain kinds of fish generally keep to a "neighborhood" or habitat off the coast of New
England. They can find out whether the population density of this kind of fish is growing or
shrinking by keeping track of the population density within a habitat over a number of years.
One method researchers use is fairly simple. They go out in boats, catch the fish, place
"tags" on a certain number of them, and release them back into the ocean. One week, for
example, they will tag twenty fish. The next week, they will return to the same area of the ocean
and count every fish they see. Maybe they will see and count two hundred. Out of that two
hundred, they find that ten of those fish have tags on them. They can assume that if they saw
another two hundred fish, they would find the other ten tags. They can then estimate that there
are about four hundred fish living in that habitat.
Materials:
Small jar or bowl
Lots of small objects such as pennies or buttons
Water-based paint
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Pen/pencil

Plan:
1. Place the pennies/buttons in a jar or bowl.
2. Remove a big handful of the objects and paint a mark on each of them to "tag" them.
3. Count how many you have "tagged" and write this number next to "A" in the space
provided.
4. When the paint is completely dry, place the marked pennies/buttons back into the
container. Mix very well with the unmarked objects by shaking or stirring the jar.
5. With your eyes closed, again remove a big handful of the pennies/buttons. Count the
number of items you have removed and write this number next to "B" in the space
provided. If there are no marked objects in your sample, you need to collect more and add
those to your total in B.
6. Count the number of "tagged" objects in your sample and write that number next to "C."
7. To estimate the total number of objects in the jar, multiply "A" times "B," and divide the
result by "C."
8. Thus, (A x B)/C = approximate number of objects in jar.
9. Repeat this several times, trying different size samples: two handfuls, a cupful, etc. Make
sure to mix them back into the total population of objects every time. Remember, this is
only an estimate. The larger the sample you take, the closer your guess will be to the
exact total.
10. After many guesses, count all of the pennies or buttons and see how close your guesses
were.
Authentic Assessment Exercise
To demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of lionfish, their attributes, and their threat to
the Bahamian Ecosystem construct a product that responds to this prompt.
Prompt:
In order to educate the public about the lionfish problem in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean
Sea, create a product that presents the topic and problem to your audience, gives them possible
advice, based on facts, about how to deal with lionfish and how to respond to the problem.
Possible Products:
Essay (for a magazine)
Flyer
Brochure
TV commercial
Display board
Proposal plan
Other products may be proposed to the teacher and accepted no later than 4 days prior to the due
date.

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