The influence of conspecific larval odor on the riverine and lacustrine migration of sea lamprey

Migratory phase sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus ) use odors released by conspecific larvae on the spawning ground to identify spawning habitat. In the aquatic environment, olfaction has the potential to identify the chemical stimuli associated with distant resources at greater distances than any other known sensory capability. I present two studies that evaluate the importance of putative components of larval odor when sea lampreys encounter them in a river during upstream migration and in the lake during the lacustrine migration. Chapter 1 focuses on how the addition of three putative components of larval odor to a river, affects sea lamprey upstream movement and channel bias in comparison to the full larval odor cue. Chapter 2 characterizes the sea lamprey's near-shore lacustrine migration and evaluates how the two most common synthesized putative components of larval odor may mediate the migration behavior. These two thesis chapters offer support for the continued investigation of the effects of PADS, PSDS, and PZS on the migration of sea lamprey and suggests that specific attention should be given to how these components function at the river mouth.