A simple, cost-effective emitter for controlled release of fish pheromones: Development, testing, and application to management of the invasive sea lamprey.

Semiochemicals that elicit species-specific attraction or repulsion have proven useful in the management of terrestrial pests and hold considerable promise for control of nuisance aquatic species, particularly invasive fishes. Because aquatic ecosystems are typically large and open, use of a semiochemical to control a spatially dispersed invader will require the development of a cost-effective emitter that is easy to produce, environmentally benign, inexpensive, and controls the release of the semiochemical without altering its structure. We examined the release properties of five polymers, and chose polyethylene glycol (PEG) as the best alternative.

What is the animal doing? Tools for exploring behavioural structure in animal movements.

Movement data provide a window - often our only window - into the cognitive, social and biological processes that underlie the behavioural ecology of animals in the wild. Robust methods for identifying and interpreting distinct modes of movement behaviour are of great importance, but complicated by the fact that movement data are complex, multivariate and dependent. Many different approaches to exploratory analysis of movement have been developed to answer similar questions, and practitioners are often at a loss for how to choose an appropriate tool for a specific question.

Field evaluation of larval odor and mixtures of synthetic pheromone components for attracting migrating sea lampreys in rivers.

The sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, is a harmful invader of the Laurentian Great Lakes. The odor emitted by larval lampreys resident to streams attracts migrating adults to high quality spawning habitats. Three components of the larval pheromone have been identified and tested in laboratory settings: petromyzonol sulfate, petromyzosterol disulfate, and petromyzonamine disulfate.