Appearance
As with all lamprey species, the least brook lamprey spends the majority of its life as a worm-like ammocoete. The ammocoete is clear with a pigmented head when small (
Behavior
Adults spawn in the spring in the headwaters of streams. The males construct small nests by picking up pebbles with their oral disks and moving them to form the rims of shallow depressions. The sticky eggs are deposited in the nest and adhere to the sand and gravel. Multiple adults may spawn in the same nest, and multiple males may spawn with the same female. As with all lamprey species, adults die after spawning.When they first hatch, embryos remain in the nest for up to one month before they mature into ammocoetes. Ammocoetes leave the nest and seek out slow-flowing water in sandy areas, where they burrow and begin feeding. Ammocoetes live burrowed for 3–7 yr, feeding on microscopic plant and animal life and detritus. Mature ammocoetes will begin metamorphosis in the late summer through the fall in preparation for spawning the following year. Metamorphosing and adult brook lampreys cannot eat, since they have nonfunctional intestines, and only live for four to six months.
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