A field test verifies that pheromones can be useful for sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) control in the Great Lakes

摘要

Pheromone-baited traps have proven highly effective for managing insect pests by selectively removing re-productively active adults prior to mating. Here, we report a field test of two pheromones produced by the sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, whichmay be useful for controlling pest populations in the Laurentian Great Lakes. In the Trout River, Michigan, we demonstrated that (z) 90% of actively migrating sea lampreys could be drawn into streams treated with a migratory pheromone and (n) lampreys were three times more likely to enter a barrier-integrated trap in a treated stream when pheromone was discharged directly through that trap (vs. an adjacent, unbaited trap). In a second experiment, we baited three traps with spermiating males (that are known to release a sex pheromone) to investigate how the quantity and spatial distribution of multiple pheromone signals would affect our ability to trap ovulating females. We found that mature females showed a strong tendency to select traps with multiplemales over a trap with a single male when the signals were encountered simultaneously, but not when encountered sequentially. Our results strongly suggest pheromones may prove highly effective as attractants in trap-based management tactics for sea lamprey in the Great Lakes.