Sea Lamprey Telemetry Noise and Range Tests,  St. Mary’s River and Mississagi River Ontario

In September of 2007, we performed acoustic tests in the St.Mary's and Mississagi Rivers to determine the feasibility and logistics of an ultrasonic telemetry study of the movement of sea lampreys at various locations near Sault Ste Marie and Iron Bridge, Ontario. An adult sea lamprey was implanted with a depth sensitive ultrasonic transmitter and suspended at various depths while acoustic signals were collected. Range tests were conducted using a Vemco VR100 receiver and GPS along transects of varying length in areas where a fixed acoustic receiving array could be deployed for researchers from the University of Guelph and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Noise and range tests were conducted during the day and at night as well as during periods of heavy boat and freighter traffic.