Communal spawning of brook and river lampreys (Lampetra planeri and L. fluviatilis) is common in the Oir River (France)

Abstract

Lasne E, Sabatié M‐R, Evanno G. Communal spawning of brook and river lampreys (Lampetra planeri and L. fluviatilis) is common in the Oir River (France). Ecology of Freshwater Fish 2010: 19: 323–325. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S Abstract – The taxonomic status of river Lampreys (Lampetra fluviatilis) and brook lampreys (L. planeri) has been repeatedly questioned due to the high morphological similarity of these species. Here, we report a high frequency (54%) of communal spawning involving both species in the Lampetra redds of a French coastal river. These observations suggest that reproductive isolation between the two species may not be as strong as previously supposed.

Strong genome-wide divergence between sympatric European river and brook lampreys

“…Most lamprey genera occur in two forms with divergent life histories: a parasitic, anadromous and a non-parasitic, freshwater resident form [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. The taxonomic status of such 'paired species' is disputed, however.…”

“…The so-called brook lampreys spend their entire life in freshwater, whereas their parasitic counterparts, the river lampreys, spend most of their adult life in the ocean or in estuaries and return to freshwater only for reproduction [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Whether these two forms are real species or are products of phenotypic plasticity in a single species has puzzled biologists for decades [2][3][4].…”

Lampreys: Biology, Conservation and Control

“…Spawning aggregations of over 20 individuals have been observed in American brook lamprey (Young and Cole 1900), European brook lamprey (Lasne et al 2010), southern brook lamprey (Cochran et al 2008), and Far Eastern brook lamprey (Takayama 2002). Spawning aggregations of over 20 individuals have been observed in American brook lamprey (Young and Cole 1900), European brook lamprey (Lasne et al 2010), southern brook lamprey (Cochran et al 2008), and Far Eastern brook lamprey (Takayama 2002).…”

“…Spawning areas are typically within 100 km of the estuary mouth (e.g., River Sorraia, Portugal: Almeida unpublished data; River Swale, England: ; Oir River, France: Lasne et al 2010). Spawning areas are typically within 100 km of the estuary mouth (e.g., River Sorraia, Portugal: Almeida unpublished data; River Swale, England: ; Oir River, France: Lasne et al 2010).…”

Evidence for a receiver bias underlying female preference for a male mating pheromone in sea lamprey

“…Two lines of evidence support the role of a receiver bias instead of the alternative hypothesis that 3kPZS signalling in silver lamprey has weakened. First, the broad occurrence of polygynandry across lampreys indicates that polygyny in sea lamprey represents a derived state and that polygynandry is the ancestral state [41][42][43][44][45]. Male competition via pheromone signalling is unlikely in communal spawning lampreys, as the odour of males probably mixes thoroughly on a nest.…”