3.2. Stage map and animations
Animations of the sequence of USGS capture events reveal that the invasion appears to have occurred in three stages as represented by the stage map (Fig. 5, Animations:http://www.mattspace.com/lionfish/MPBAnimations.htm). Stage one occurred from the initial release point until the end of 2004 at which point lionfish were first reported from the Bahamas (USGS-NAS, 2010) and is represented by dark gray arrows (Fig. 5). Stage two proceeds in a south and easterly direction beginning in the central Bahamas in 2004 and is represented by black arrows (Fig. 5). Once established in the Bahamas, dispersal proceeded southward into the entire Caribbean including central and northern South America by 2009 (USGS-NAS, 2010). Stage three, represented by a white arrow (Fig. 5), began when recruitment occurred in the Florida Keys and appears to be a full circle invasion-cycle, back to the region of initial lionfish introduction and similar to the invasion pattern presented by Freshwater et al. (2009) and Betancur-R et al. (2011).