University of Michigan-Flint

Faculty Name:  Heather Dawson

Department:  Biology

Campus Address:  264 Murchie Science Building

Email:  hdawson@umflint.edu

Phone:  810-762-3360

Project Description:  The sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) control program is a critical component in the Laurentian Great Lakes because it significantly reduces the mortality of Great Lakes fish caused by the feeding of parasitic sea lamprey, thereby facilitating the rehabilitation of fish stocks important to the integrity of the Great Lakes and tourism in Great Lakes states such as Michigan.  Since the late 1950s, chemical methods have been the primary means of sea lamprey control, and involve the application of a lampricide to kill larvae (ammocoetes) in Great Lakes tributaries before they undergo metamorphosis and become parasites.  Because the cost of lampricide prohibits treating all streams that will produce parasitic sea lampreys each year, information on ammocoete abundance, growth, and survival in streams is used to rank streams for lampricide treatment.  However, analyses that require age composition data such as ammocoete growth and survival have been discouraged by the unreliability of age-assessment methods for ammocoetes. Determining age based on visual assessments of length-frequency distributions is subjective and uncertain, and determining age based on counts of annuli on statoliths has been found to be imprecise and inaccurate.  However, statoliths are the analogous structure in lampreys to otoliths in teleost fishes, and otolith size is more correlated with fish age than is fish length.  We propose to use a known-age population of ammocoetes to evaluate whether statolith size is correlated with ammocoete age, and evaluate the accuracy of an objective, statistical method for ammocoete age assessment that combines length-frequency and partial age composition data.

Semesters Desired:  Fall 2011 AND Winter 2012

GSRA Position Description:  The GSRA would perform the following work with guidance from the faculty advisor:

1.         Use microscopic morphometric analysis to evaluate prepared statoliths from known-age ammocoete populations.

2.         Analyze data.

3.         Determine whether statolith size is correlated with ammocoete age.

4.         Evaluate a statistical method for ammocoete age assessment that combines length-frequency data with partial age composition data (using statolith size to infer age).

5.         Prepare presentations for professional meetings, and provide information gained to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to aid in the management of this invasive species.

Specific Day/Time Requirements:  None identified

Special Requirements:  Must be able to:

1.         Pay attention to detail.

2.         Use lab equipment (microscopes and associated measurement software) properly.

3.         Meet with the faculty advisor every two weeks to discuss research progress.

4.         Use various computer programs, including measurement software, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access.

5.         Work effectively and appropriately with others.

Graduate Students in These Programs May Apply:  Candidate in mind