Biology and ecology of the lionfish Pterois volitans/Pterois miles as invasive alien species: a review

The lionfish is an exotic invasive fish native to the Indo-Pacific, which is established in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Lionfish can affect native fishes and invertebrates through direct predation or competition for food. The present review aims to analyze the most relevant characteristics of the biology and ecology of lionfish as an invasive alien species, with an emphasis on Cuba. We provide a current view of the well-known lionfish as a successful invasive fish, and we put in this context the information regarding lionfish in Cuban waters, enriching the background knowledge, and giving novel and relevant information. The compilation of numerous publications on the subject has allowed for a more complete analysis of essential aspects of this invader in the Cuban archipelago. The consulted literature records that the first report of lionfish in Cuba occurred in 2007; subsequently, sightings of lionfish were reported in numerous localities. In 2010, the lionfish was considered an invasive alien species, which currently is established in various habitats, at depths up to 188 m, throughout the Cuban archipelago (e.g., coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, submerged artificial structures). In addition, it has reached very high densities (12.42 ind./100 m2), which exceed those reported in the Indo-Pacific as well as in many locations in the Western Atlantic. It has been confirmed that the lionfish in Cuba also presents numerous characteristics that guarantee its success as an invader, among them: less quantity and diversity of parasites than other Atlantic fishes found in similar environments, a high number of gametes in the gonads, reproductive activity during all year and wide diet. The most important fish families for the lionfish diet in Cuba have been Pomacentridae, Gobiidae, Scaridae, Holocentridae, Mullidae, Labridae and Acanthuridae; and the most important crustacean orders are Decapoda, Mysida, Stomatopoda and Isopoda. In Cuba, as in the entire invaded region, numerous investigations have been directed to evaluate the impact of this invader on ecosystems, and although there is enough information, their results differ. Additional studies are required to assess the impact of lionfish as a predator after several years of invasion on a larger geographic scale in Cuba and other areas of the region. This knowledge will allow the development of more effective control strategies. Periodic lionfish culling have been carried out in Cuban MPAs as a control strategy, and some positive results have been observed, such as the average size reduction; however, further efforts are still required. Due to the importance of the study of lionfish as an invader, this review is a necessity as it provides, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of lionfish information and results from Cuba, which is adequately contrasted with previous studies of other areas, particularly, from the Greater Caribbean

Unusual high density of foureye butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) in Punta Francés coral reef, Cuba

We report an unusual high density of the foureye butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) in Punta Francés coral reef, Isle of Youth, Cuba. Foureye butterflyfish were swimming together in associations of 10 to 34 individuals throughout a survey carried out on spur and groove habitat, in July, 2014. This species is commonly observed single or in pairs in the Caribbean coral reefs, tending to contribute significantly to the reef fish abundance in the region. We consider important to record this particular behavior, despite we are unable to explain the causes with the current available data

ESTADO DE CONSERVACIÓN DE LA ICTIOFAUNA ARRECIFAL EN PARQUES NACIONALES CUBANOS: UNA REVISIÓN/ Conservation statusof reef fish assemblages in Cuban national parks: A review

Las áreas marinas protegidas se han convertido en un componente clave en el mantenimiento de la integridad de la vida en hábitats marinos. La categoría de manejo Parque Nacional es la segunda más estricta aplicada sobre un área protegida en Cuba. En estas es necesaria la evaluación de su efectividad y su acción sobre la ictiofauna, debido a la eficiencia de este grupo como indicador de la protección. La necesidad de analizar el estado del conocimiento y el de conservación de las agregaciones de peces arrecifales en áreas marinas de Cuba con categoría de Parque Nacional motivó la realización de este trabajo. De los ocho ecosistemas de arrecifes de coral protegidos bajo la categoría de Parque Nacional, cuatro tienen publicaciones científicas dedicadas a su ictiofauna. El empleo de las diferentes variantes del método de censo visual en las publicaciones analizadas dificulta la comparación de las asociaciones de peces en cada área. Sin embargo, se observó una tendencia a la escasez de peces de gran talla y de importancia comercial en los parques nacionales con excepción de Jardines de la Reina. La carencia de estudios científicos publicados dedicados a la ictiofauna arrecifal en tales sitios en Cuba evidencia la necesidad de centrar los esfuerzos en este tipo de estudio que aporta el conocimiento necesario para el mejor manejo de estos recursos. ABSTRACT Marine protected areas (MPAs) have become a key component in the conservation of marine life and habitats worldwide. In Cuba, their use has also gained momentum, particularly the National Parks, the second stricter management category in the country. Surprisingly, despite well-proven efficacy of fishes as indicators of habitat status, few studies have been conducted to assess National Parks’ effectiveness in protecting the fish communities. This paper aims at analyzing the current state of knowledge and conservation status of reef fish publications about their fishes. The use of different alternatives of the visual census method undermines the comparison of reef fish assemblages among areas. Nevertheless, a common lack of big and commercially important fish species was observed in all National Parks but Jardines de la Reina. Scarcity of scientific publications about reef fish assemblages in these National Parks triggers the need to conduct management-oriented research that contributes to the protection and sustainability of fish communities

International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortiu (INICC) report, data summary of 43 countries for 2007-2012. Device-associated module

We report the results of an International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2007-December 2012 in 503 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. During the 6-year study using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) U.S. National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care–associated infection (DA-HAI), we collected prospective data from 605,310 patients hospitalized in the INICC's ICUs for an aggregate of 3,338,396 days. Although device utilization in the INICC's ICUs was similar to that reported from ICUs in the U.S. in the CDC's NHSN, rates of device-associated nosocomial infection were higher in the ICUs of the INICC hospitals: the pooled rate of central line–associated bloodstream infection in the INICC's ICUs, 4.9 per 1,000 central line days, is nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.9 per 1,000 central line days reported from comparable U.S. ICUs. The overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher (16.8 vs 1.1 per 1,000 ventilator days) as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (5.5 vs 1.3 per 1,000 catheter days). Frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (42.8% vs 10%) and imipenem (42.4% vs 26.1%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (71.2% vs 28.8%) and imipenem (19.6% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC's ICUs compared with the ICUs of the CDC's NHSN