Effect of Potential Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) Repellents on the Distribution of Juvenile Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in a Laboratory Environment

Abstract

Recent studies have begun to consider the use of chemosensory alarm cues as potential repellents of invasive Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus Linnaeus, 1758) in the Great Lakes Basin. An important factor in determining the efficacy of potential P. marinus repellents is whether they are species-specific. To that end, using laboratory stream channels, this study investigated whether a non-target species, the Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum, 1792), would change their distribution in response to damage-released P. marinus alarm cues, potential mammalian predator cues, and damage-released conspecific cues. In groups of 10 individuals per replicate, with 10 replicates per stimulus type, subjects were exposed to one of the following treatment types: deionized water (control), P. marinus extract (heterospecific alarm cue), O. mykiss extract (conspecific alarm cue), 2-phenylethylamine hydrochloride (potential predator cue), and human saliva (potential predator cue). None of the stimuli induced a significant avoidance response during the stimulus observation period as compared to the control. These findings provide preliminary support for the species-specific nature of these proposed alternative P. marinus control measures.