Maniak, P.J., R.D. Lossing, and P.W. Sorensen, 2000. Injured Eurasian Ruffe, Gymnocephalus cernuus, Release an Alarm Pheromone that Could be Used to Control their Dispersal, University of Minnesota.

Reprinted with Permission from Journal of Great Lakes Research (2000) 26(2): 183-195

Injured Eurasian Ruffe, Gymnocephalus cernuus, Release an Alarm Pheromone that Could be Used to Control their Dispersal

Abstract
Eurasian ruffe, an undesirable species of fish that was introduced into the Great Lakes from Eurasia, employs an alarm pheromone which might be useful in bio-control. This pheromone is released from ruffe skin when it is damaged and serves to reduce the swimming and feeding activity of exposed conspecifics while repelling fish from areas treated with it. Responsiveness to this cue is mediated by the olfactory sense and highly specific: ruffe do not respond to the odor of damaged heterospecifics, and heterospecifics (goldfish) do not respond to it. The pheromone retains its activity with freezing but not with passage through the gut of a predator. Extracts of frozen ruffe skin should be considered for use as a repellant to exclude ruffe from areas where they are not wanted such as harbors where ships take on ballast water, spawning grounds, or passages connected to inland waterways.

Entire Paper
Contact: Peter Sorensen, University of Minnesota, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, St Paul, MN 55108
Key Words: Ruffe, Biological_control, Basic_biology
Product Type: Research, Control
User Type: General