Sea lamprey

The sea lamprey is a jawless, parasitic fish native to the Atlantic Ocean and its tributaries. It is also established as an invasive species in the Great Lakes.

Ammocoete: The burrowing, filter-feeding larval stage of lampreys. Sea lampreys spend several years in this river-dwelling stage before metamorphosis.
Great Lakes Fishery Commission: A binational organization coordinating fisheries research and sea lamprey control in the Great Lakes. It leads the coordinated program that limits sea lamprey populations across the Great Lakes.
Atlantic Ocean: The ocean basin separating the Americas from Europe and Africa. The sea lamprey is native to Atlantic coastal waters and rivers draining into them.
Lake trout: A large freshwater char native to deep, cold lakes in North America. Sea lamprey predation contributed to severe declines of lake trout in the Great Lakes.
Lamprey metamorphosis: The developmental transition from a lamprey larva to a juvenile with adult form and feeding structures. After years as an ammocoetes, sea lampreys transform and migrate toward the sea or a lake.
Lampricide: A chemical used to kill lampreys, especially their larval stages in streams. Lampricides target ammocoetes in tributaries before they migrate into the lakes.
St. Lawrence River: A river connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean through eastern Canada. It provides the natural outlet linking the Great Lakes basin with the sea lamprey's native Atlantic range.
Great Lakes fishery: Commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishing in the Great Lakes basin. Lamprey-driven fish declines damaged fisheries and prompted coordinated restoration and control.
Lamprey oral disc: A circular, sucker-like lamprey mouth lined with teeth and surrounding a rasping tongue. The oral disc lets sea lampreys attach to host fish and feed on their tissues and blood.
3-Trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol: A selective lampricide, commonly called TFM, used to control larval sea lampreys. TFM is the principal chemical treatment applied to infested Great Lakes tributaries.

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