The Podcast Aquatic13 Aug 2025

The Pride of the Gulf

Invasive Lionfish have been a big problem in the Gulf for decades. These beautiful, venomous visitors from the Indopacific wreak havoc on native fish populations. A single female is capable of producing 50,000 eggs every three days for her entire life, and once grown, Lionfish lack any natural predators to keep their populations from spiraling out of control.

Like many ecological conundrums, the presence of Lionfish in the Gulf is thought to be the result of human activity and may require human intervention to correct it.

For the last 10 years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has led the Lionfish Invitational, a Lionfish culling event designed to prevent the species' spread into the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, a series of deep-water reefs off the coast of Louisiana and Texas.

In this episode, four Tennessee Aquarium aquarists invited to take part in the Lionfish Invitational recount their time actively working to stave off an invasive species while also experiencing the real-life inspiration for the Aquarium's largest exhibit: the Secret Reef.

Watch a video of the Tennessee Aquarium's participation in the 2023 Lionfish Invitational: https://youtu.be/_FW_M_ebFZM?si=b8hCyz6v_L5bKDZR

Additional resources:

Impacts of the Invasive Lionfish (NOAA): https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/ecosystems/impacts-invasive-lionfish
Understanding the pain experience of lionfish envenomation study (NIH): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10789455/
Scientific studies produced from the Lionfish Invitational: https://www.lionfishinvitational.com/publications

Episode Cast

Casey Phillips, host/senior communications specialist
Avery Millard, senior aquarist
Kimberly Hurt, senior aquarist
Kyle McPheeters, lead aquarist (life support systems)

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.

Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org.

Join other conservation enthusiastsand follow us on Facebook and Instagram

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(80)

Telling BIG Fish Stories

Generally speaking, the exhibits at the Tennessee Aquarium are designed to replicate a single, distinct ecosystem, from the species residing there to the vegetation that helps set the stage. There are...

23 Sep 51min

A Six-Story Celebration

In 1996, the Tennessee Aquarium opened the first major expansion to its campus on Chattanooga's downtown riverfront. This new building showcased every kind of sea life imaginable, not to mention every...

9 Sep 1h 5min

How the Heckin' HECK Do You Find Endangered Fish?

By their very nature, endangered animals are a difficult target for scientists to research. They tend to be few in number — naturally — and the populations that exist have sometimes survived purely th...

28 Aug 1h 10min

Season 2 Finale: A Jolly Good Fellowship

Being selected for an internship or fellowship is a career milestone for many students and recent graduates, but it can also be a bit of a double-edged sword. Ideally, these programs are a chance to b...

30 Jul 56min

Grand Moth Talkin'

Despite outnumbering them (in species diversity) by a factor of almost ten to one, moths are the quintessential under-appreciated insect. To most people, they're an almost-spooky nocturnal curiosity a...

22 Jul 43min

A Quick Drop-in with Oscar the Sea Turtle

In the Aquarium gift shop years ago, there was once a sea turtle stuffed animal for sale that looked a little ... different. He didn't have all of his flippers, and his shell was missing a notch. This...

15 Jul 34min

A First-class Freshwater Filmmaker (feat. Jeremy Monroe)

When most people think about wildlife and nature documentaries, there are places that naturally spring to mind: the Great Barrier Reef, the Amazon Rainforest, the African Serengeti. What most people d...

1 Jul 1h 4min

Surprise, It's a Baby Lemur!

There’s no point in arguing that the arrival of a baby animal at an aquarium or zoo isn’t cause for celebration. Many, MANY new generations of animals have been born at the Tennessee Aquarium in our 3...

17 Jun 56min