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The sea lamprey (''Petromyzon marinus'') is a
parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...
lamprey native to the Northern Hemisphere. It is sometimes referred to as the "vampire fish".


Description

The sea lamprey has an eel-like body without paired fins. Its mouth is jawless, round and sucker-like, and as wide or wider than the head; sharp teeth are arranged in many concentric circular rows. There are seven branchial or
gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they ar ...
-like openings behind the eye. Sea lampreys are olive or brown-yellow on the dorsal and lateral part of the body, with some black marblings, with lighter coloration on the belly. Adults can reach a length of up to and a body weight up to .


Etymology

The etymology of the genus name ''Petromyzon'' is from '' petro-'' "stone" and '' myzon'' "sucking"; ''marinus'' is Latin for "of the sea".


Distribution and habitat

The species is found in the northern and western
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
along the shores of Europe and North America, in the western
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
, the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
, and as an invasive species in the shores of the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
. They have been found at depths up to 4000 meters and can tolerate temperatures of . In North America, they are native to the
Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Islan ...
basin in the United States. The largest European populations of sea lampreys are located throughout the southwestern areas of Europe (north-central Portugal, north-northwest of Spain, and west–southwest of France). These countries also support the main fisheries of the species.


Ecology

Sea lampreys are
anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousa ...
; from their lake or sea habitats, they migrate up rivers to spawn. Females deposit a large number of eggs in nests made by males in the substrate of streams with moderately strong current. Spawning is followed by the death of the adults. Larvae burrow in the sand and silt bottom in quiet water downstream from spawning areas and filter-feed on plankton and detritus. After several years in freshwater habitats, the larvae undergo a metamorphosis that allows young, post-metamorphic lampreys to migrate to the sea or lakes, and start the adult
hematophagous Hematophagy (sometimes spelled haematophagy or hematophagia) is the practice by certain animals of feeding on blood (from the Greek words αἷμα ' "blood" and φαγεῖν ' "to eat"). Since blood is a fluid tissue rich in nutritious p ...
method of feeding. Some individuals start hematophagous feeding in the river before migrating to the sea, where sea lampreys prey on a wide variety of fish. The lamprey uses its suction cup-like mouth to attach itself to the skin of a fish and rasps away tissue with its sharp, probing tongue and
keratin Keratin () is one of a family of structural fibrous proteins also known as ''scleroproteins''. Alpha-keratin (α-keratin) is a type of keratin found in vertebrates. It is the key structural material making up Scale (anatomy), scales, hair, Nail ...
ized teeth. A fluid produced in the lamprey's mouth, called ''lamphredin'', prevents the victim's blood from clotting. Victims typically die from excessive blood loss or infection. After one year of hematophagous feeding, lampreys return to the river to spawn and die, a year and a half after the completion of metamorphosis. Lampreys are considered a delicacy in some parts of Europe, and are seasonally available in France, Spain, and Portugal. They are served pickled in Finland.


Physiology

Due to its lifecycle that switches between fresh and salt water, the sea lamprey is adapted to tolerate a wide range of
salinities Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal ...
. Cell membranes on the surface of the gills are major contributors to ionoregulation. Changes in membrane composition influence the movement of different ions across the membrane, changing amounts of components to change the membranes' environment. As the larvae (called ammocoetes) move towards the oceans, the ratio between saturated fatty acids (SFA) and
polyunsaturated fatty acids Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are fatty acids that contain more than one double bond in their backbone. This class includes many important compounds, such as essential fatty acids and those that give drying oils their characteristic pr ...
(PUFA) in the gills shifts towards higher amounts of SFA, as they affect the fluidity of the membrane, and higher levels of SFA lead to a decrease in permeability compared to PUFA. Lamprey ammocoetes have a relatively narrow range of salinity tolerance, but become better able to withstand wider ranges of salinity concentrations as they reach later stages of life. Tight regulation of Na/K-ATPase and an overall decrease in expression of H-ATPase assists in regulating the lamprey's internal fluid and ion balance as it moves to areas of higher salinity. Lampreys also maintain acid-base
homeostasis In biology, homeostasis ( British also homoeostasis) (/hɒmɪə(ʊ)ˈsteɪsɪs/) is the state of steady internal, physical, and chemical conditions maintained by living systems. This is the condition of optimal functioning for the organism and ...
. When introduced to higher levels of acids, they are able to excrete excess acids at higher rates than most other saltwater fishes, and in much shorter times, with the majority of the transfer of ions occurring at the gill surface. Sea lampreys parasitize other fishes for their diet, including elasmobranchs such as sharks and rays, which have naturally high levels of
urea Urea, also known as carbamide, is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid. Urea serves an important ...
in their blood. Urea is toxic to most fishes in high concentrations, and is usually excreted immediately. Lampreys are able to tolerate much higher concentrations than most other fish and excrete it at extremely high rates, obtained from ingested blood. Trimethylamine oxides present in ingested elasmobranch blood aid in counteracting the detrimental effects of high urea concentration in the lamprey's bloodstream as it feeds.


Immunology

Two presumptive apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide-like (APOBEC)s expressed in
lymphocyte A lymphocyte is a type of white blood cell (leukocyte) in the immune system of most vertebrates. Lymphocytes include natural killer cells (which function in cell-mediated, cytotoxic innate immunity), T cells (for cell-mediated, cytotoxic a ...
s - CDA1 and CDA2 - have been discovered in ''P. marinus''.


Genetics

The
genome In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ...
of ''Petromyzon marinus'' was sequenced in 2013. This sequencing effort revealed that the lamprey has unusual guanine-cytosine content and amino acid usage patterns compared to other vertebrates. The full sequence and annotation of th
lamprey genome
is available on the
Ensembl Ensembl genome database project is a scientific project at the European Bioinformatics Institute, which provides a centralized resource for geneticists, molecular biologists and other researchers studying the genomes of our own species and other v ...
genome browser. The lamprey genome may serve as a model for developmental biology and evolution studies involving transposition of repetitive sequences. The lamprey genome undergoes drastic rearrangements during early embryogenesis in which about 20% of the germline DNA from somatic tissues is shed. The genome is highly repetitive. About 35% of the current genome assembly is composed of repetitive elements with high sequence identity. Northern lampreys have the highest number of
chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins ar ...
s (164–174) among vertebrates. Two genes important to immune function - CDA1 and CDA2 - were first discovered in ''P. marinus'' and then found to be conserved across lampreys. See
Immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see ther ...
above.


Invasive species

Sea lampreys are considered a pest in the
Great Lakes region The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canadian–American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with the Canadian p ...
. The species is native to the inland Finger Lakes and
Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/ Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type ...
in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
and
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
. Whether it is native to
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
, where it was first noticed in the 1830s, or whether it was introduced through the
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing ...
which opened in 1825 is not clear. Improvements to the Welland Canal in 1919 are thought to have allowed its spread from Lake Ontario to
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also ha ...
, and while it was never abundant in either lake, it soon spread to
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
,
Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Straits of Mack ...
, and
Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
, where it decimated indigenous fish populations in the 1930s and 1940s. In its original habitats, the sea lamprey coevolved with its hosts, and those hosts evolved a measure of resistance to the sea lampreys. However, in the Great Lakes, the sea lamprey attacks native fish such as lake trout, lake whitefish,
chub Chub is a common fish name. It pertains to any one of a number of ray-finned fish in several families and genera. In the UK, the term ''chub'' usually refers to the species '' Squalius cephalus''. In addition, see sea chub. In family Cyprinida ...
, and
lake herring ''Coregonus artedi'', commonly known as the cisco, is a North American species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. The number of species and definition of species limits in North American ciscoes is a matter of debate. Accordingly ...
, which historically did not face sea lampreys. Elimination of these predators allowed the alewife, another invasive species, to explode in population, with adverse effects on many native fish species. The lake trout plays a vital role in the Lake Superior ecosystem. The lake trout has traditionally been considered an apex predator, which means that it has no predators. The sea lamprey is an aggressive predator by nature, which gives it a competitive advantage in a lake system where it has no predators and its prey lacks defenses against it. The sea lamprey played a large role in the destruction of the Lake Superior trout population. Lamprey introduction along with poor, unsustainable fishing practices caused the lake trout populations to decline drastically. The relationship between predators and prey in the Great Lakes' ecosystem then became unbalanced. Each individual sea lamprey has the potential of killing 40 pounds of fish through its 12–18 month feeding period.


Efforts at control

Control efforts, including electric current and chemical lampricides have met with varied success. The control programs are carried out under the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, a joint Canada–U.S. body, specifically by the agents of the Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
. Genetic researchers have mapped the sea lamprey's genome in the hope of finding out more about evolution; scientists trying to eliminate the Great Lakes problem are coordinating with these genetic scientists, hoping to find out more about its immune system and fitting it into its place in the
phylogenetic tree A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...
. Researchers from
Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...
have teamed up with others from the Universities of
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
,
Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...
, and
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, and others in a research effort into newly synthesized pheromones. These are believed to have independent influences on the sea lamprey behavior. One group of pheromones serves a migratory function in that when they are made by larvae, they are thought to lure maturing adults into streams with suitable spawning habitat. Sex pheromones emitted from males are capable of luring females long distances to specific locations. These pheromones are both several different compounds thought to elicit different behaviors that collectively influence the lampreys to exhibit migratory or spawning behaviors. Scientists are trying to characterize the function of each pheromone, and each part of the molecules, to determine if they can be used in a targeted effort at environmentally friendly lamprey control. However, as of 2017, the most effective control measures still involve the application of (3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol), or TFM, a selective pesticide, into rivers. no lampricide resistance has been detected in the Great Lakes. Further research and combined use of multiple control methods are needed to forestall future development of resistance. Another technique used in the prevention of lamprey population growth is the use of barriers in major reproduction streams of high value to the lamprey. The purpose of the barriers is to block their upstream migration to reduce reproduction. The issue with these barriers is that other aquatic species are also inhibited by this barrier. Fish that use tributaries are impeded from traveling upstream to spawn. To account for this, barriers have been altered and designed to allow the passage of most fish species, but still impede others.


Restoration

The intent of lamprey control programs is a safer habitat and a healthier population growth for vulnerable native fish species such as lake trout. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has taken a different path to this same goal by introducing sea lampreys to freshwater rivers and lakes of the Connecticut River watershed, and providing easier access around dams and other barriers for the lampreys to reach spawning sites high upstream. After preying on larger fish at sea, the adult lampreys migrate up the rivers to spawn, whereupon they quickly die of natural causes and decompose, thus providing a food source for the native freshwater fish species.


See also

* Lamprey pie


References


External links


Invading Species.com
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
GLANSIS Species Fact Sheet
United States Geological Survey
Species Profile – Sea Lamprey (''Petromyzon marinus'')
National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library. Lists general information and resources for Sea Lamprey. * View th
Lamprey genome
in
Ensembl Ensembl genome database project is a scientific project at the European Bioinformatics Institute, which provides a centralized resource for geneticists, molecular biologists and other researchers studying the genomes of our own species and other v ...
. *
"Battle of the Great Lakes"
by CleLand Van Dresser, ''Popular Mechanics'', February 1950, pp. 159–161/244. * {{Authority control sea lamprey Fish of the North Atlantic Fish of Europe Fish of North America Fish of the Great Lakes Fish of Canada Fish of the Eastern United States Fish of the Mediterranean Sea Parasitic vertebrates sea lamprey sea lamprey Articles containing video clips