| Title: | Sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus: an exception to the rule of homing in anadromous fishes |
| Author(s): | Waldman J; Grunwald C; Wirgin I; |
| Address: | "Biology Department, Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing, NY 11367, USA. john.waldman@qc.cuny.edu" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1744-9561 (Print) 1744-957X (Electronic) 1744-9561 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Anadromous fishes are believed to make regular circuits of migration in the sea before homing to their natal rivers. Sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus is an anadromous fish that is an exception to this life-history pattern. It also differs from other anadromous fishes in that its adult phase is parasitic, a feeding strategy that should make homing problematic for lamprey cohorts that become widely dispersed through transport by the diverse hosts they parasitize. We sequenced a portion of the mitochondrial DNA control region from sea lampreys collected from 11 North American east coast rivers to test for genetic evidence of homing. There were no significant differences (chi2=235.1, p=0.401) in haplotype frequencies among them, with almost 99 per cent of haplotypic diversity occurring within populations. These findings, together with concordant genetic results from other geographical regions and ancillary information on pheromonal communication, suggest that sea lamprey does not home but rather exhibits regional panmixia while using a novel 'suitable river' strategy to complete its life cycle" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Canada DNA, Mitochondrial/*genetics Haplotypes *Homing Behavior Mid-Atlantic Region New England Petromyzon/*genetics Rivers;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineWaldman, John Grunwald, Cheryl Wirgin, Isaac eng P30 ES000260/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ ES00260/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. England 2008/08/21 Biol Lett. 2008 Dec 23; 4(6):659-62. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0341" |
