Diatoms as food of larval sea lampreys in a small tributary of northern Lake Michigan

The food and food preferences of sea lamprey ammocoetes have not been investigated. The food of the larval American brook lamprey, Lampetra lamottei, in the Great Lakes region consisted mainly of diatoms and desmids according to Creaser and Hann. Schroll discussed the biology of feeding of ammocoetes of Lampetra planeri and Eudontomyzon danfordi in Europe. This report presents data on the availability and use of diatoms by sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus Linnaeus, ammocoetes in a small tributary of northern Lake Michigan.