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The efficacy of two synthesized sea lamprey sex pheromone components as a trap lure when placed in direct competition with natural male odors

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Abstract

The female sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), a devastating invasive fish of the Laurentian Great Lakes, locates potential mates by tracking a sex pheromone emitted by nesting males. We tested whether combinations of two putative components of the sex pheromone, 3-keto-petromyzonol sulfate (3kPZS) and 3-keto-allocholic acid (3kACA), were sufficiently attractive to function as a trap-bait when placed in direct competition with male odors. Ovulating females successfully located point sources of 3kPZS both in the presence and absence of a competing odor emitted by mature males placed upstream. However, 3kPZS was not able to retain females in the vicinity of a trap longer than two minutes, and retention time was reduced by 57% when competing male odors were present. 3kACA failed to elicit a response on its own and did not improve attraction to, or retention near, a source of 3kPZS. Application of an incomplete pheromone in trapping-for-control scenarios will require devices configured to minimize the effort necessary to enter a trap, features to offset the probable decrease in trap retention, and deployment into favorable habitats where competition with spawning males is minimal.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to MiDNR for access to the Ocqueoc River from state land. We thank the staffs of the Hammond Bay Biological Station and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Marquette Biological Station for providing experimental subjects and access to holding and laboratory facilities. Matt Altenritter (MSU), Gale Bravener (Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada), and Scott Marvin (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), provided technical assistance in the field. We thank Erin Dreelin, Nick Johnson and Jim Miller for insightful discussions and for reviewing early drafts of this manuscript. This research was funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission via grants to C.M.W. (field experiments) and W. Li (verification of synthesized compounds), as well as the Partnership for Ecosystem Research and Management with Michigan State University. The final manuscript was substantially improved thanks to the comments of an anonymous referee.

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  1. Mark A. Luehring

    Present address: Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, P.O. Box 9, Odanah, WI, 54861, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 13 Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Mark A. Luehring, C. Michael Wagner & Weiming Li

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  1. Mark A. Luehring
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  2. C. Michael Wagner
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  3. Weiming Li
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Correspondence to C. Michael Wagner.

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Luehring, M.A., Wagner, C.M. & Li, W. The efficacy of two synthesized sea lamprey sex pheromone components as a trap lure when placed in direct competition with natural male odors. Biol Invasions 13, 1589–1597 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-010-9916-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-010-9916-3

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