The Great Lakes - St.Lawrence Research Inventory

We have shown that 3-keto Petromyzonol sulfate (3kPZS), a pheromone component initially thought to only induce robust behaviors in mature female sea lampreys, also attracts immature females and is effective through the migratory period. We now hypothesize that 3kPZS is a pheromone component that induces long distance rheotaxis in spawning-phase females (both mature and immature) over hundreds of meters and can be used to aggregate them into traps.

The genome of the sea lamprey is currently being sequenced, and it is anticipated that the wealth of information derived from this sequence database will ultimately permit researchers to identify novel molecular targets to control this pest species. While the function of some newly sequenced genes can be deduced by comparisons with genes of other species, the function of many of the lamprey's genes will need to be experimentally determined.

As the only extant deepwater cisco in Lake Michigan, bloater is at a very low level of abundance but has historically undergone dramatic oscillations in recruitment. In previous research, Bunnell et al. (2 6) found strong bloater recruitment to correlate with balanced sex ratios. Subsequent unpublished work reveals that the negative effect of female predominance and other potential factors are not sufficient to explain recent poor recruitment in Lake Michigan.

The American eel is also a very important resource in eastern North America. It supports a valuable commercial fishery along the Atlantic Coast. However, the situation of American eel in Canada is quite dramatic in the upper St. Lawrence R. / L. Ontario region: catches in the St. Lawrence R. which has historically supported the most important eel fishery in Canada have declined from 3 metric tons in 199 to less than 72 tons in 2 . In this context, this 2-year study will focus on 3 specific objectives : 1.

Designing a harvest strategy for a multispecies fishery is complex and requires an assessment of both direct (e.g., bycatch) and indirect (via food-web dynamics) effects of the harvest of one species on the dynamics of other species. We propose to assist managers in evaluating alternative multispecies harvest strategies by using a decision analysis approach that involves stakeholders and includes a food-web model (using Ecopath with Ecosim) of the Lake Huron coldwater fish community and fishery.

Despite recent research efforts, several information gaps remain in terms of stock discrimination and the proper allocation of commercial harvest of Lake Michigan lake whitefish between state- licensed and native commercial fishing in Wisconsin and Michigan waters. A recently developed stock-structure model (six identified stocks) and microsatellite reference database for lake whitefish spawning aggregates in Lake Michigan provides a framework for addressing some of these key information gaps.

Long-term datasets, seasonal observations, and unique assessment series make Lake Ontario an important location to study sea lamprey- host interactions. Sea lamprey control began in 1971 and lake trout stocking began in 1973. Wounding data has been collected for lake trout in targeted surveys in July and September, in contaminant surveys in spring and fall, and from monthly community index gill netting. Wounding data has been collected for salmon and trout during angler surveys and fishway monitoring.

"Objectives: 1. Compare the 1999 vertical distribution of oxygen concentration at 11 stations in the central basin of Lake Erie monitored by the US EPA with previous year's data. 2> Measure the flux of oxygen, nutrients, and algae in the water column using a Self-Contained Autonomous Micro-Profiler (SCAMP). 3. Include public school teachers in performing a state-of-art monitoring program of Lake Erie.