ESTRUCTURA DE TALLAS Y PREFERENCIA AL SUSTRATO DEL PEZ LEON (Pterois volitans) (SCORPAENIFORMES: SCORPAENIDAE) EN SANTA MARTA (COLOMBIA)

Abstract

The lionfish, after its invasion to the Caribbean, was reported in the Colombian continental Caribbean, thereafter and to measure its impact there have been numerous strategies. Size structure and substrate preference were studied for a year between December 2011 and December 2012 in five locations in Santa Marta, through visual censuses in 30x5 m transects. Size were grouped according to the frequency distribution into four categories (one: between 8 and 14 cm, two: between 15 and 21 cm, three: from 22 to 28 cm and four: between 29 and 35 cm). We observed 92 specimens with a mean of 18.0±5.3 cm. Category two, the most abundant (n=48), predominated in Morro Grande and Isla Aguja, from June to August, followed by categories three (n = 21) and one (n = 20). Category four (n=3) was the less abundant, being found at Morro Grande and Isla Aguja. Variables explaining better the correlation between lionfish densities and type of substrate were sponges (0.6303), coral coverage (0.6111) and abiotic components (-0.9443). Lionfish abundance was marked by the kind of structure available for recruitment; this indicates that the species does not show any substrate preference, adapting to any kind of reef conditions.