2025/01/01 by Victoria Lynn Smit Heath, Megan F. Mickle, Dennis M. Higgs · 1 voice
Environmental Science · #Fish Ecology and Management Studies
paper · doi:10.1139/cjz-2025-0064
openalex publication_date 2025/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Sea lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus Linnaeus, 1758) are invasive fish species in the Laurentian Great Lakes and parasitically feed on many commercially important fishes. Sound is used as a deterrent for invasive species, but its potential for manipulating sea lamprey behaviour in natural stream conditions is under-tested. Both the behavioural acoustic thresholds and different life stage responses of sea lamprey have yet to be established. To fill in some literature gaps, low-frequency tones of 70 or 90 Hz were used in a laboratory setting to determine the behavioural responses of adult and juvenile sea lamprey. Both stages of sea lamprey exhibited a change in swimming behaviour (movement to the onset and offset of sound) and a twitch (small movement of tail or body) in response to both frequencies. The behavioural threshold for adult and juvenile lamprey to sound ranged from 147 to 162 dB re 1 µPa. The threshold level for twitch determined for 70 Hz for juvenile and adult sea lamprey ranged from 157 to 160 dB re 1 µPa. These thresholds and behaviours can be used for implementation of field management techniques that have previously shown the efficacy of sound to direct lamprey movements for control purposes.