Lionfish

Beautiful and deadly the lionfish is also highly destructive. Native to the IndoPacific, the lionfish has established itself as a significant invasive species of the East Coast of the United States and has been described as one of the most aggressively invasive species on the planet. It aggressively preys on small fish and invertebrates and are territorial towards other reef fish. This poses a major threat to reef ecological systems which consequently could be experiencing a decrease in Atlantic reef diversity by as much as 80%.