Male Sex Pheromone Could Control Sea Lamprey Populations
Ann Arbor, Mich. — Exciting new discoveries about how the male sex pheromone facilitates reproduction in sea lampreys has led to speculation of how it might be used to suppress their reproduction in the Great Lakes. Mathematical models were used to estimate the amount of suppression that could be achieved using pheromone-baited traps, decoys, camouflage, and release of pheromone-enhanced sterile-males.
The models indicated that thousands of traps or hundreds of thousands of decoys would be required to suppress a population of 100,000 animals. The model results were most encouraging for the use of pheromone-enhanced sterile males indicating that their release over three generations could reduce sea lamprey populations by 90% in Lakes Huron and Ontario, and by 98% in Lake Michigan.
The sea lamprey invaded the Great Lakes after the construction of the Erie and Welland Canals. This non-native invader is extremely damaging to fish communities in the Great Lakes. For several decades the Great Lakes Fishery Commission has urged scientists to find ways of controlling this pest that do not pose a hazard to other forms of life.
Original Publication Information
Results of this study "Modeling the Suppression of Sea Lamprey Populations by Use of the Male Sex Pheromone" are reported by Waldemar Klassen, Jean V. Adams, and Michael B. Twohey in the latest issue (Volume 31, No. 2, pp. 166-173) of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, published by the International Association for Great Lakes Research, 2005.
Contacts
For more information about the study, contact Michael B. Twohey, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Marquette Biological Station, 1924 Industrial Pkwy, Marquette, MI 49855 USA, michael_twohey@fws.gov, 906) 226-1226.
For information about the Journal of Great Lakes Research, contact Marlene Evans, Editor, National Water Research Institute, 11 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 3H5, Canada; marlene.evans@ec.gc.ca; (306) 975-5310.
Since 1967, IAGLR has served as the focal point for compiling and disseminating multidisciplinary knowledge on North America's Laurentian Great Lakes and other large lakes of the world and their watersheds. In part, IAGLR communicates this knowledge through publication of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, available to members in print and electronic form. A searchable archive of the journal is available online and includes the abstracts of articles from the journal's inception in 1975 through the most recent issue. In addition, complete articles are available to members who have signed up for an electronic subscription.
