Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Phish Pheremones

Sea Grant's News page has this article about a scientist who has found a chemical attractant that works against the Eurasian ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus), an invasive fish in the Great Lakes region. The chemical, known as 20-beta-S, is released by female ruffes, and causes males to arrive from great distances and basically act like teenagers with spring fever :-). Such an attractant, if mass-produced, holds great potential as a way of managing and perhaps eradicating invasive populations. Dr. Peter Sorenson, a biologist at the University of Minnesota, headed up the team that discovered the chemical, and is hoping to find similar compounds for other fish invaders.

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