Influence of body size, metabolic rate and life history stage on the uptake and excretion of the lampricide 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) by invasive sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus)

Abstract

Invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) are controlled in the Great Lakes using the lampricide 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM), which is applied to streams infested with larval lamprey. However, lamprey that survive treatments (residuals) remain a challenge because they may subsequently undergo metamorphosis into parasitic juvenile animals that migrate downstream to the Great Lakes, where they feed on important sport and commercial fishes. The goal of this study was to determine if body size and life stage could potentially influence sea lamprey tolerance to TFM by influencing patterns of TFM uptake and elimination. Because mass specific rates of oxygen consumption (M˙O2) are lower in larger compared to smaller lamprey, we predicted that TFM uptake would be negatively correlated to body size, suggesting that large larvae would be more tolerant to TFM exposure. Accordingly, TFM uptake and M˙O2 were measured in larvae ranging in size from 0.2–4.2g using radio-labelled TFM (14C-TFM) and static respirometry. Both were inversely proportional to wet mass (M), and could be described usingthe allometric power relationship: Y=aMb, in which M˙O2=1.86M0.53 and TFM Uptake=7.24M0.34. We also predicted that body size would extend to rates of TFM elimination, which was measured following the administration of 14C-TFM (via intraperitoneal injection). However, there were no differences in the half-lives of elimination of TFM (T 1/2-TFM). There were also no differences in M˙O2 or TFM uptake amongst size-matched larval, metamorphosing (stages 6–7), or post-metamorphic (juvenile) sea lamprey. However, the T1/2-TFM was significantly lower in larval than post-metamorphic lamprey (juvenile), indicating the larval lamprey cleared TFM more efficiently than juvenile lamprey. We conclude that larger larval sea lamprey are more likely to survive TFM treatments suggesting that body size might be an important variable to consider when treating streams with TFM to control these invasive species.