Sea lampreys, an invasive pest in the Great Lakes, are very sought after for research and education.   Each year researchers request excess sea lampreys from Fish and Wildlife Service offices operating in the Great Lakes area. 

Sea lampreys are captured on their spawning migrations as part of an ongoing program to control the invasive pest. 

The Marquette Biological Station operates a network of about 50 traps to assess sea lamprey populations in the Great Lakes and to obtain animals for use in a sterile-male-release technique of population suppression. 

The female lampreys would be destroyed and placed in a landfill if not used for education. 

This spring more than 9,000 animals were provided to researchers, and another 10,000 animals were provided to biological suppliers who distribute the animals to schools. 

Research projects at a variety of universities include the investigation of sex and stress steroids, mating behavior and pheromones, photoreception, embryonic and evolutionary development, and genetics.