Behavioural Threshold and Management of Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) to Acoustic Stimuli

Sea lamprey are an invasive species present in the Laurentian Great Lakes and parasitically feed on native species which affects the environment. The sea lamprey deplete important fishing species such as trout and salmon by preying on them leading to death. Many different control methods have been proposed for controlling and limiting lamprey such as barriers, pheromones and toxins. Sound has been used for deterring other invasive species and can be used to direct behaviour but has not been tested on sea lamprey. Experiments done in a field setting showed the effect of low frequency sound on the lamprey’s behaviour in a natural environment to show the efficiency of sound as a deterrent. Using PIT tagged sea lamprey and PIT tag arrays to track their movements, behaviour experiments were used to show the change in swimming behaviour away from sound. Results can lead to a wider knowledge of how to control lamprey’s behaviour and may lead new integrated strategies for preserving unaffected areas as well as help develop more effective methods of control