The Sea Lamprey in the Great Lakes

Abstract

The sea lamprey was inadvertently introduced above Niagara Falls by the development of the Welland Canal between Lakes Ontario and Erie. A major population did not develop in Lake Erie but the species rapidly established itself as a highly significant predator in all three upper lakes. Its most obvious effect was the virtual extermination of the lake trout which had been the mainstay of the fishery. Efforts were made to limit sea lamprey reproduction by blocking the major spawning runs. These measures helped define the scope of the problem and generated considerable knowledge of the fluvial phase of the animalˈs life history but apparently exerted no significant restraint on population growth. Later control measures employed lamprey specific, selective toxicants to destroy larval populations in stream and estuarine habitats. Introduced first on Lake Superior to conserve the only significant lake trout stock then remaining, vigorous prosecution of these “treatments” resulted in a reduction, in 1961–62, of the Lake Superior adult sea lamprey population to a fifth or less of its maximum level. Since then the decline has continued though much less precipitously. A marked decrease in the proportion of males to females has accompanied the reduction in numbers. Similar changes in the sex ratio of spawning run Lake Michigan sea lamprey presumably reflect successful extension of control measures to that lake. Treatment of lamprey infected Lake Huron tributaries is not yet complete. Further reductions in lamprey numbers can reasonably be expected to result from improving treatment techniques but it is clear that total extermination is an unrealistic goal. It is not yet clear whether the present degree of control will permit restoration of self sustaining stocks of lake trout and other depleted prey populations.

Population ecology of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) as an invasive species in the Laurentian Great Lakes and an imperiled species in Europe

“…1). In the Laurentian Great Lakes, the sea lamprey evidently invaded the Great Lakes from the Atlantic Ocean (Christie and Goddard 2003;Eshenroder 2014), and were first found in Lake Ontario in 1835 (although this date has been disputed by Eshenroder 2014), Lake Erie in 1921, Lake Michigan in 1936, Lake Huron in 1937, and Lake Superior in 1938 (Applegate 1950;Lawrie 1970;Smith 1979;Smith and Tibbles 1980;Smith 1985). By the 1950s, sea lampreys were abundant in all Great Lakes, where they imposed high mortality on nearly all teleost species, but especially the lake trout Salvelinus namaycush (Hansen 1999).…”

A Hands-on Activity to Introduce the Effects of Transmission by an Invasive Species

“…Sea lampreys were introduced into Lakes Ontario and Erie during the construction of the Welland Canal and quickly spread to the other Great Lakes. The sea lamprey is a parasite that attaches itself to fish, eventually killing them, and has devastated commercial and recreational Lake Trout fishing in the Great Lakes (Lawrie 1970).…”

Size matters: predation of fish eggs and larvae by native and invasive amphipods

“…All life stages are vulnerable, from adults (e.g. Lawrie 1970;Ogutu-Ohwayo 1990;Ruzycki et al 2003) to young fish (e.g. Garman and Nielsen 1982;Lemly 1985) to eggs and larvae (e.g.…”