Sea lamprey avoid areas scented with conspecific tissue extract in Michigan streams

Three in-stream experiments were conducted to determine whether sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus L., tissue extract (alarm cue) and 2-phenylethylamine hydrochloride (PEA HCl, a putative predator cue) influenced the distribution of migrating adult sea lamprey. Experiments evaluated sea lamprey movement when an odour was applied to (1) a tributary of a larger stream; and (2) half of a stream channel. Fewer sea lamprey entered the tributary and side of the river scented with sea lamprey tissue extract compared to the control treatment. Sea lamprey did not avoid the tributary and side of the river scented with PEA HCl. A final laboratory experiment found no difference in the avoidance response of sea lamprey to PEA HCl mixed with river water vs PEA HCl mixed with water from Lake Huron. As such, the lack of sea lamprey response to PEA HCl in the stream was unlikely to have been caused by the presence of the river water. Rather, the difference between laboratory and field results may be attributed to the complexity of the physical environment.