Correction to ‘Lionfish predators use flared fin displays to initiate cooperative hunting’

Biol. Lett. 10, 20140281. (Published online 25 June 2014). (doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0281)

In response to the query of a reader concerning the number of lionfish (Dendrochirus zebra) used in the two experiments described by Lönnstedt et al. 2014, the Editor of Biology Letters requested clarification of the statement: ‘To maintain statistical independence each individual predator was used for only one trial’. In e-mail correspondence from Dr Lönnstedt to Biology Letters in March 2018, she explained that the statement applied only to Experiment 2 and that the fish for Experiment 2 were re-used from Experiment 1. Specifically, Dr Lönnstedt stated… ‘In Experiment 1, the compartment D. zebra fish from the first treatment (D. zebra) were reused as focal lionfish in the empty compartment treatment (they had thus not seen the experimental arena before and care was ensured they were allowed 24 h to rest). In the P. antennata treatment, 1 P. antennata had to be reused as the compartment fish (this fish was used first on the 9th Dec and then for a second time on the 13 December 2012). In Experiment 2 collected fish were used again. Here, care was taken to ensure that no fish was paired with one they had encountered in experiment 1 (no lionfish was used more than once in Experiment 2)’. In line with current Royal Society open data policy (introduced after the study had been published), the reader also requested copies of the primary data generated by the experiments missing from the original article. In March 2018, Dr Lönnstedt provided Biology Letters with: (1) a data file giving details of each trial conducted and (2) a pdf file of a collage of 50 lionfish photographs providing evidence of the number of lionfish caught during the study. These files are now uploaded as additional supplementary materials.

This correction, as well as the additions to the supplementary files, was completed by co-authors Prof. Ferrari and Prof. Chivers without input from Dr Lönnstedt, who was not available for comment at the time the correction was written.