In the last few decades, scientists have come to appreciate the incredible creatures living on the reefs that lie just below conventional diving limits in what is called the mesophotic zone. These incredible biodiversity hotspots are home to more endemic species than shallower reefs, and conservationists are hopeful they may serve as refuges—pockets of relatively pristine habitat out of reach of anthropogenic stressors—where species under threat from pollution, overfishing, and even the effects climate change can hang on while we clean up our act.
In a new paper published today in Royal Society Open Science, scientists have added to growing evidence that these ecosystems do serve as refuges—unfortunately, in this case, they’re harboring large, fertile adults of exactly the wrong species: invasive lionfishes. Continue reading “Death From Below: Invasive Lionfish Lurking in Deep Reefs, Sending Hungry Reinforcements to the Shallows”
