Lionfish invades Brazilian waters
First spotted in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida in the 1980s, they later spread across the Caribbean, reshuffling coral reefs and other ecosystems by feasting on fish unfamiliar with the voracious predator.
While ocean currents that flow north—such as the South Equatorial Current—and the freshwater plume created by the Amazon River hampered the spread of the invasive species, scientists predicted it was just a matter of time before it moved into Brazilian waters.