A professor at Nicholls State University has aided in the documentation, about the effects of one parasitic species of fish on the Gulf of Mexico.

Katherine Galloway, a Nicholls teacher, is the lead author of a paper titled “Predator-Prey Interactions Investigated Using Lionfish Spine Puncture Performance” that discusses the harm lionfish causes to the Gulf South ecosystem.

“They eat a lot of commercially and economically important species, which is particularly harmful in areas where diving tourism is popular,” Galloway said. “It's also thought that as the climate changes, the lionfish invasion in the Gulf of Mexico might worsen.”

Lionfish are a kind of predator that is only found in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Three fin positions on the fish's body have venomous spines. According to Galloway, lionfish first appeared off the coast of Florida when six were released from an aquarium during Hurricane Andrew. She also claims that people with private aquariums have published more to help raise their numbers. As a result, the lionfish population in the Gulf of Mexico has risen.

According to the study, lionfish reproduce rapidly, with females releasing up to 2 million eggs each year. The fish can stay a long time without eating, losing just 5-16 % of their weight after three months. Galloway said, "This invasive species has a direct effect on the coastlines near Nicholls State University." In 2010, lionfish sightings were recorded along the coasts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana in the northwest Gulf of Mexico. Lionfish are generalist predators that eat a variety of prey, including juvenile fish and crustaceans.

Galloway conducted the majority of the analysis while she was a doctoral student at Florida Atlantic University. Galloway is now looking for undergraduate students to begin the study during the summer and fall semesters.

“I believe this research contributes towards a better understanding of what makes an invasive species so competitive in terms of a body plan. We knew lionfish had venomous spines before my study. What we didn't know that if all the spines worked in the same way. Researching a structure's dynamics is important not just for anatomy but also for investigating a species invasion that the public helped to cause.” Galloway stated.