Swimming behaviour of upriver migrating sea lamprey assessed by electromyogram telemetry

Abstract

The main subject of this study was the swimming behaviour of upriver migrating sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, with particular focus on identification of their swim strategies to overcome areas of difficult passage. A biotelemetry technique (electromyogram telemetry) was used to register muscle activity of the tagged animals. In the 2005 spawning season, five adult sea lampreys were surgically tagged and released in the field. Before release, electromyogram (EMG) records were calibrated with the P. marinus swimming speed in a swim tunnel. Differences between ground speed and swimming speed in the wild suggest that the calibrated CEMG (coded electromyogram) transmitter output corresponds to an activity index, and cannot be properly related to actual swimming speed. This study notes the need to confirm the laboratory calibration curves, to ascertain their use in determining swimming speed of tagged fish in the wild. In 2006, in order to confirm the field results seven adult sea lampreys were tagged, calibrated in the laboratory and released in a 30-m long experimental outdoor canal. The results were similar: observed swimming speed was generally higher when compared with the swimming speed obtained with the EMG signal. In the river, when swimming through slow-flow stretches, sea lampreys maintained a constant pattern of activity, attaining an average ground speed of 0.76 BL s )1 (2.5 km h)1

Some reproductive characteristics of endangered Caspian Lamprey (Caspiomyzon wagneri Kessler, 1870) in the Shirud River southern Caspian Sea, Iran

“…Similar observations have been shown for some other lampreys species (e.g., Malmqvist 1980;Kelly and King 2001;Almeida et al 2002;Quintella et al 2004;Almeida et al 2007;Andrade et al 2007;Binder and McDonald 2008;Quintella et al 2009). A similar pattern of migration has been described for the landlocked Sea Lamprey, whose peak of migratory activity was reached about 2 hours after nightfall and generally declined until about 02:00 hours (Hardisty and Potter 1971;Almeida et al 2002).…”

Chemical Characterization of Lipophilic Constituents in the Skin of Migratory Adult Sea Lamprey from the Great Lakes Region

“…However, in its native range, the sea lamprey may enjoy greater ability to surmount energetically-costly barriers to migration (e.g. fish passage devices), leading to positive conservation outcomes [17]. …”

Life cycle of the sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus: duration of and growth in the marine life stage

“…In the case of sea lamprey, there are intensive fisheries in Spain, France and Portugal (Beaulaton et al 2008, Quintella et al 2009, Cobo et al 2010. Thus, the lack of information on the duration of the marine life stage makes this work particularly important.…”