Control of Invasive Sea Lamprey in the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, and Finger Lakes of New York

Gut Microbiota Associated With Different Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) Life Stages

“…Sea lamprey are endangered in parts of its native range in Europe (Lucas et al, 2020), but are also an invasive pest in the Laurentian Great Lakes (Marsden and Siefkes, 2019). In the Great Lakes, SL feed on the blood of ecologically and economically valued fishes, and because fishes in the Great Lakes are smaller relative to marine fishes, SL often kill their host (Smith and Tibbles, 1980).…”

Dispelling misperceptions of native lampreys (Entosphenus and Lampetra spp.) in the Pacific northwest (USA)

“…The sea lamprey invaded the Great Lakes during the late 1800s to late 1930s (Eshenroder, 2014;Smith & Tibbles, 1980;Sullivan et al, 2003), where it had access to plentiful spawning habitat, and small-bodied prey that had not co-evolved with the sea lamprey (Cochran, 2004;Renaud & Cochran, 2019). This was a unique situation where an anadromous lamprey accessed previously inaccessible freshwater habitats through human-made canals and caused extensive damage to desirable fish species (Eshenroder et al 2014;Marsden & Siefkes, 2019). The invasive sea lamprey, along with a number of other factors, contributed to the collapse of whitefish (Coregonus spp.)…”

“…This is despite the fact that their prey often survives the attack, which is not true of the prey of more conventional predators” (Moyle & Cech, 1996). Additionally, native lamprey species have been confused with the invasive/nuisance sea lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus ) of the Laurentian Great Lakes, Lake Champlain and the Finger Lakes of New York (“Great Lakes”; Marsden & Siefkes, 2019). Mixed messaging in outreach on control of sea lamprey in the Great Lakes (mid‐1900s—present; e.g., GLFC, 2020) has influenced the confusion of invasive Great Lakes sea lamprey with native lampreys (Clemens et al, 2017; Close, Fitzpatrick, & Li, 2002; Cochran, 2004; Luzier et al, 2009).…”

Variation in the transcriptome response and detoxification gene diversity drives pesticide tolerance in fishes

“…The sea lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus ) control program in the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America (hereafter referred to as the Great Lakes) is an excellent model system to explore the evolutionary and genetic foundations of differential toxicity tolerance to a pesticide in target (i.e., invasive sea lamprey) and non-target (native) species. Sea lamprey, although native to the Atlantic Ocean, likely gained access to Lake Ontario through canals in the mid-1800s; the Welland Canal subsequently allowed access to the remaining Great Lakes by the early 1900s 13 . By the 1950s, sea lamprey populations in the Great Lakes had exploded, decimating native fisheries, notably lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ), having severe impacts on the environment and economy of the region 13 .…”

“…Sea lamprey, although native to the Atlantic Ocean, likely gained access to Lake Ontario through canals in the mid-1800s; the Welland Canal subsequently allowed access to the remaining Great Lakes by the early 1900s 13 . By the 1950s, sea lamprey populations in the Great Lakes had exploded, decimating native fisheries, notably lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ), having severe impacts on the environment and economy of the region 13 . An international Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) involving Canadian and American institutions was formed in 1955 to co-manage fisheries and to control sea lamprey populations.…”