1. Growth and Survival of Sea Lampreys from Metamorphosis to Spawning in Lake Huron.
- Author
-
Swink, William D. and Johnson, Nicholas S.
- Subjects
LAMPREYS ,AMMOCOETES ,MARINE fish development ,PARASITIC diseases - Abstract
Larval Sea LampreysPetromyzon marinuslive burrowed in stream bottoms and then metamorphose into their parasitic stage. Among larvae that metamorphose in a given year (i.e., parasitic cohort), autumn out-migrants (October–December) to the Laurentian Great Lakes can feed on fish for up to 6 months longer than spring out-migrants (March–May), which overwinter in streams without feeding. We evaluated whether the season of out-migration affected growth or survival of newly metamorphosed Sea Lampreys in Lake Huron. Newly metamorphosed individuals (n= 2,718) from three parasitic cohorts were netted during their out-migration from Black Mallard Creek, Michigan, to Lake Huron during autumn 1997 through spring 2000; each out-migrant was injected with a sequentially numbered coded wire tag and was released back into the creek. After up to 18 months of feeding in the Great Lakes, 224 (8.2%) Sea Lampreys were recaptured (in 1999–2001) as upstream-migrating adults in tributaries to Lakes Huron and Michigan. Recovery rates of autumn and spring out-migrants as adults were 9.4% and 7.8%, respectively, and these rates did not significantly differ. Overwinter feeding (i.e., as parasites) by autumn out-migrants did not produce adult mean sizes greater than those of spring out-migrants. Because we detected no growth or survival differences between autumn and spring out-migrants, the capture of newly metamorphosed Sea Lampreys at any point during their out-migration should provide equal reductions in damage to Great Lakes fisheries. The absence of a difference in growth or survival between autumn and spring out-migrants is an aspect of Sea Lamprey life history that yields resiliency to this invasive parasite and complicates efforts for its control in the Great Lakes. Received August 2, 2013; accepted October 26, 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF