Invasive Red Lionfish Threatens Reef Fish in Caribbean

The Caribbean’s fragile reef ecosystems are under attack by the invasive red lionfish. The venomous lionfish, a native of the Pacific and Indian oceans, devours the small reef fish that keep the corals free of seaweed. Researchers have observed a single lionfish eat 20 small fish in 30 minutes, fueling worries that they will depopulate whole reefs, the Associated Press reports. (Such devastation has a freshwater precedent: After the Nile perch was introduced to Lake Victoria, it ate more than 200 fish species into extinction.) The lionfish, which probably entered the Caribbean 16 years ago when Hurricane Andrew smashed a Miami aquarium, has spread to Cuba, Hispaniola, and especially the Bahamas. One expert fears the infestation “may very well become the most devastating marine invasion in history.”