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Title
Osmoregulation and appetite regulation in a basal vertebrate, the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)
Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5495-5131
AccessType
Open Access Dissertation
Document Type
dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Program
Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Year Degree Awarded
2023
Month Degree Awarded
September
First Advisor
Stephen McCormick
Subject Categories
Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology
Abstract
Lamprey (Petromyontiformes) are the oldest extant family in the vertebrate lineage, providing a unique phylogenetic position for studies on vertebrate evolution. As a basal vertebrate, sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) is an important species to understand evolution and comparative physiological mechanisms, including osmoregulation and appetite regulation. Sea lamprey has anadromous (native to the Atlantic Ocean) and landlocked (invasive in the Laurentian Great Lakes in North America) populations. In both populations of sea lamprey, the blind filter-feeding freshwater (FW) larvae burrow in stream sediments for until undergoing a hormonal-driven metamorphosis. During this phase, sea lamprey do not feed as major morphological and physiological changes occur, including the development of salinity tolerance and parasitic anatomy. After metamorphosis, sea lamprey migrate to the ocean (anadromous), or FW lakes (landlocked) where they attach to a host and feed parasitically. After a rapid growth phase, adults return to FW streams to spawn and die.
In this thesis, I examine the osmoregulation and appetite regulation of sea lamprey. In Chapter 2, I describe the osmoregulatory and ionoregulatory capacities of one anadromous (Connecticut River) and three landlocked (Lake Champlain, Hammond Bay, and Thunder Bay) populations exposed to FW or seawater (SW) over two weeks (Chapter 2). In Chapter 3, I functionally characterize a FW ion uptake transporter, the Na+:Cl- cotransporter (NCC) in the gill of sea lamprey across life stages and salinity environments. In Chapter 4, I compare physiological and hormonal differences between feeding and non-feeding parasitic juvenile sea lamprey, using specific growth rate and plasma triglycerides as confirmation for feeding behavior., I describe differences in appetite- and feeding- regulating hormones in the first feeding following metamorphosis.
Collectively, this dissertation contributes to conservation and management practices for native and invasive sea lamprey, and it contributes to the knowledge of osmoregulation and appetite regulation in the context of vertebrate evolution.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/35875089
Recommended Citation
Norstog, Jessica, "Osmoregulation and appetite regulation in a basal vertebrate, the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)" (2023). Doctoral Dissertations. 2935.
https://doi.org/10.7275/35875089
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/2935