Lionfish Sampling: Day 2

The study we are working on is a  BACI (Before and After Control Impact) study. In short, the goal of the study is to determine how frequently lionfish will need to be removed in order to return the area to a "natural" state, or that before the lionfish were introduced.

There are a total of 20 sites within the study. Each is approximately 100 meters long & situated along the edge of the reef in 50-80 feet of water. Each site is sampled four times per year. During the first year of the project everything is left as is. All lionfish are left in place, despite their invasive nature. During these sampling trips we are merely observed  During the second year, each site will receive one of three different treatments. Three of the sites will have lionfish removed from them on a monthly basis. Three will have lionfish removed every four months, and the remainder will not have lionfish removed. Researchers will continue to return to the sites four times per year to count numbers of lionfish remaining and numbers of other types of fish species present. If the lionfish are having a substantial impact on the populations of other fishes, the researchers would expect to see an increase in all types of native fishes on the sits with the most frequent lionfish culls. However, if the impact is somewhat lower, the researchers would not expect to see much difference in fish populations between sites with monthly lionfish removals and those with removals 3 times per year. This study will determine how frequentlly the National Park should be culling lionfish in order to maintain the populations of native fishes in a natural state. It will be a couple of years before we have an answer to this question.

Counting Lionfish

Both yesterday and today, we completed three surveys of lionfish, other predator fish, and prey species.  Of course, completing the dives is only a small part of the entire process of working in the field. These are at least twelve hour work days. We get up around 6 am, leave the house by seven, arrive at the park around 7:30, load the boat, and drive out to the first site of the day. Each pair of divers spends approximately 1 to 1.5 hours on the site, searching for their fish (lionfish/predators or prey species), then we move on. We arrive back at the park around 7 pm, and head back to our rental house. This is a great group of people, so we work together to make dinner, and then clean all of our gear, and ready for the next day. It's an exhausting schedule, but it is also a great deal of fun. You get to know people extraordinarily well working so closely with them. 

My office for a couple of weeks

Tomorrow will be a shorter day of sampling. We plan to only sample one site and then come back in to get our tanks refilled at a local dive shop. This will also give us a chance to rest up a little bit, watch the World Cup final, and generally recouperate for another couple of twelve hour days.