Setting the record straight on invasive lionfish control: Culling works

15 Indo-Pacific lionfish have invaded large parts of the western Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of 16 Mexico, and have already caused measurable declines in native Atlantic reef fauna. Culling 17 efforts are occurring across the region, particularly on coral reefs, to reduce local lionfish 18 abundances. Frequent culling has recently been shown to cause a shift towards more wary and 19 reclusive behaviour by lionfish, which has prompted calls for halting culls. However, the 20 effectiveness of culling per se is not in question. Culling successfully lowers lionfish numbers 21 and has been shown to stabilise or even reverse declines in native prey fish. In fact, partial 22 culling is often as effective as complete local eradication, yet requires significantly less time and 23 effort. Abandoning culling altogether would therefore be seriously misguided and a hindrance to 24 PeerJ PrePrints | http://dx.doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.398v1 | CC-BY 4.0 Open Access | received: 28 May 2014, published: 28 May 2014 P re P rin ts conservation. We offer suggestions for how to design removal programs that minimize 25 behavioural changes and maximize culling success. 26