Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T09:03:18.288Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Relationship between locomotor activity, environmental factors, and timing of the spawning migration in the European eel, Anguilla anguilla

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2008

Caroline M.F. Durif ,
Francois Travade ,
Jacques Rives ,
Pierre Elie  and
Claude Gosset
Caroline M.F. Durif
Affiliation:
Institute of Marine Research-Austevoll, 5392 Storebø / Department of Biology, University of Oslo, PO Box 1066 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway Cemagref, Research unit: Estuarine ecosystems and migratory amphihaline fish species, 50 avenue de Verdun, 33612 Cestas, France
Francois Travade
Affiliation:
EDF, Études et Recherches, 6 quai Watier, 78401 Chatou Cedex, France
Jacques Rives
Affiliation:
INRA, Laboratoire d'Ecologie des Poissons, BP 3, 64310 Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, France
Pierre Elie
Affiliation:
Cemagref, Research unit: Estuarine ecosystems and migratory amphihaline fish species, 50 avenue de Verdun, 33612 Cestas, France
Claude Gosset
Affiliation:
INRA, Laboratoire d'Ecologie des Poissons, BP 3, 64310 Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, France
Get access

Abstract

At the onset of sexual maturation, European eels Anguilla anguilla exhibit high locomotor activity which may correspond to migratory restlessness. We measured activity of captive eels and determined whether it correlated with downstream runs of silver eels as well as changes in environmental factors. Groups of eels at different stages of the silvering process (yellow to silver stage) were tagged and placed in separate tanks supplied with either river or tap water. Activity was measured by means of a flat-board antenna placed vertically in the middle of the tank at the surface of the water. Wild migrating silver eels were caught in the nearby river. Activity of eels in the river water tanks increased 1 to 2 days before downstream migrating eels were caught in the trap, and concurrently with a rise in turbidity and a decrease in conductivity. Activity of eels in the tap water tank showed a different pattern, which did not correspond to downstream runs. A peak in activity corresponded to a drop in tap water pH. It is concluded that eels do show periods of high locomotor activity at the onset of migration and this could be used to predict downstream migration. Movements are triggered by changes in water composition (as opposed to changes in discharge, atmospheric pressure and lunar cycle) measured using turbidity and/or conductivity as proxies. If eels are able to detect such small changes in water conductivity (80 µS cm−1), they may use it to find their way to the estuary.

Keywords

Locomotor activityDownstream migrationEnvironmental factorsPredictionAnguilla anguilla / Atlantic Ocean
Type
Research Article
Information
Aquatic Living Resources , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , April 2008 , pp. 163 - 170
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD, 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barbin, G.P., Parker, S.J., Mc Cleave, J.D., 1998, Olfactory clues play a critical role in the estuarine migration of silver-phase American eels. Environ. Biol. Fishes 53, 283–291. CrossRef
Batschelet, 1981, Circular statistics in biology. Academic Press
Behrmann-Godel, J., Eckmann, R., 2003, A preliminary telemetry study of the migration of silver European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) in the River Mosel, Germany. Ecol. Freshw. Fish. 12, 196–202. CrossRef
Boëtius, J., 1967, Experimental indication of lunar activity in European silver eels, Anguilla anguilla (L.). Medd. Danm. Fisk. Havunders. 6, 1–6.
Boucher-Firly S., Fontaine M., 1933, Rapports existant entre quelques stades de développement de l'Anguille et le point de congélation de son sérum lors du passage en eau de mer. C. R. Scéances Soc. Biol., Paris. 112, 462.
Bruijs M.C.M., Durif C.M.F., 2008, Silver eel migration and behavior. In: van den Thillart G., Dufour S., Rankin C. (Eds.) Spawning migration of European eel - reproduction index, a useful tool for conservation management, Springer, in press.
Cox, R.A., McCartney, M.J., Culkin, F., 1970, The specific gravity/salinity/temperature relationship in natural sea water. Deep-Sea Res. 17, 679–689.
Durif, C., Dufour, S., Elie, P., 2005, The silvering process of Anguilla anguilla: a new classification from the yellow resident to the silver migrating stage. J. Fish Biol. 66, 1025–1043. CrossRef
Durif C., Gosset C., Rives J., Travade F., Elie P., 2003, Behavioral study of downstream migrating eels by radio-telemetry at a small hydroelectric power plant. In: Dixon D.A. (Ed.) Biology, Management, and Protection of Catadromous Eels, Bethesda, Maryland, Am. Fish. Soc. Symp. 33, pp. 343–356.
Durif C.M.F., Guibert A., Elie P., 2008, Morphological discrimination of the silvering stages of the European eel. In: Casselman J.M., Cairns D.K. (Eds.) Eels at the edge: science, status, and conservation concerns. Proc. 2003 International Eel Symposium, Bethesda, Maryland, Am. Fish. Soc. Symp. Publ., in press.
Durif, C.M.F., Elie, P., 2008, Prediction of downstream migration of silver eels in a large river catchment based on commercial fishery data. Fish. Manage. Ecol. 15, 127–137. CrossRef
Dutil, J.D., Besner, M., McCormick, S.D., 1987, Osmoregulatory and ionoregulatory changes and associated mortalities during the transition of maturing American eels to a marine environment. Am. Fish. Soc. Symp. 1, 175–190.
Edel, R.K., 1975, Effect of shelter availability on activity of male silver eels. Helgol. Meersunters. 27, 167–174. CrossRef
Edel, R.K., 1976, Activity rythms of maturing American eels (Anguilla rostrata). Mar. Biol. 36, 283-289. CrossRef
EPRI 2001, Review and documentation of research and technologies on passage and protection of downstream migrating catadromous eels at hydroelectric facilities. Report No. 1000730, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA.
Euston E.T., Royer D.D., Simons C.L., 1997, Relationship of emigration of silver American eels (Anguilla rostrata) to environmental variables at a low head hydro station held in Atlanta, Georgia. In: Mahoney D.J. (Ed.) Proc. International Conference on Hydropower, Atlanta, Georgia, Am. Soc. Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, Virginia, pp. 549–558.
Fontaine, M., 1975, Physiological mechanisms in the migration of marine and amphihaline fish. Adv. Mar. Biol. 13, 241–355. CrossRef
Fontaine, M., Koch, H., 1950, Les variations d'euryhalinité et d'osmorégulation chez les poissons. Leur rapport possible avec le déterminisme des migrations. J. Physiol. 42, 287–318.
Gosset, C., Travade, F., Durif, C., Rives, J., Elie, P., 2005, Tests of two types of bypass for downstream migration of eels at a small hydroelectric power plant. River Res. Appl. 21, 1095–1105. CrossRef
Hadderingh R.H., Baker H.D., 1998, Fish mortality due to passage through hydroelectric power stations on the Meuse and Vecht rivers. In: Jungwirth M., Schmutz S., Weis S. (Eds.) Fish Migration and Fish Bypasses, Oxford, Fishing News Books, Blackwell Science, pp. 315–328.
Hain, J.H.W., 1975, The behaviour of migratory eels, Anguilla rostrata, in response to current, salinity and lunar period. Helgol. Meersunters. 27, 211–233. CrossRef
Haraldstad, O., Voellestad, L.A., Jonsson, B., 1985, Descent of European silver eel, Anguilla anguilla L., in a Norwegian watercourse. J. Fish Biol. 26, 37–41. CrossRef
Haro A., 2003, Downstream migration of silver-phase anguillid eels. In: Aida K., Tsukamoto K., Yamauchi K. (Eds.) Eel Biology, Tokyo, Springer Verlag, pp. 215-221.
ICES, 2007, Report of the 2007 session Joint EIFAC/ICES Working Group on Eels. Report No. ICES CM 2007 / ACFM, Bordeaux, France.
Lowe, R.H., 1952, The influence of light and other factors on the seaward migration of the silver eel (Anguilla anguilla L.). J. Anim. Ecol. 21, 275–309. CrossRef
McCleave, J.D., Jellyman, D.J., 2002, Discrimination of New Zealand stream waters by glass eels of Anguilla australis and Anguilla dieffenbachii. J. Fish Biol. 61, 785–800. CrossRef
Okamura, A., Yamada, Y., Mikawa, N., Tanaka, S., Oka, H.P., 2002, Exotic silver eels Anguilla anguilla in Japanese waters: seaward migration and environmental factors. Aquat. Living Resour. 15, 335–341. CrossRef
Ozeki, T., Tanaka, Y. Fukamizu, M., Ogawa, N., 1999, Plots of the pH versus electric conductivity of rainwater for evaluating the accuracy of pH measurements. Anal. Sci. 15, 1159–1161. CrossRef
Peterson, R.H., Coombs, K., Power, J., Paim, U., 1989, Responses of several fish species to pH gradients. Can. J. Zool. 67, 1566–1572. CrossRef
Schmidt, J., 1922, The breeding places of the eel. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., Ser. B. 211, 179–208.
Sloane, R.D., 1984, Preliminary observations of migrating adult freshwater eels Anguilla australis australis Richardson, in Tasmania. Aust. J. Mar. Freshw. Res. 35, 471–476. CrossRef
Smith R.J.F., 1985, The control of fish migration. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg.
Sola, C., Giulianini, P.G., Ferrero, E.A., 1993, Ultrastructural charaterization of the olfactory organ in glass eels, Anguilla anguilla (Osteichthyes, Anguilliformes). Boll. Zool. 60, 253–261. CrossRef
Tesch, F.W., 1974, Influence of geomagnetism and salinity on the directional choice of eels. Helgol. Meersunters. 26, 382–395. CrossRef
van Ginneken, V., Durif, C., Balm, S.P., Boot, R., Verstegen, M.W.A., Antonissen, E., et al., 2007, Silvering of European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.): seasonal changes of morphological and metabolic parameters. Anim. Biol. 57, 63–77. CrossRef
Vøllestad, L.A., Jonsson, B., Hvidsten, N.A., Naesje, T.F., Haralstad, O., Ruud-Hansen, J., 1986, Environmental factors regulating the seaward migration of European silver eels (Anguilla anguilla). Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 43, 1909–1916. CrossRef
Westerberg, H., Lagenfelt, I., Svedang, H., 2007, Silver eel migration behaviour in the Baltic. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 64, 1457–1462. CrossRef
Westin, L., Nyman, L., 1979, Activity, orientation, and migration of baltic eel (Anguilla anguilla L.). Rapp. P.-v. Réun. Cons. Int. Explor. Mer. 174, 115–123.
Winter, H.V., Jansen, H.M., Bruijs, M.C.M., 2006, Assessing the impact of hydropower and fisheries on downstream migrating silver eels, Anguilla anguilla, by telemetry in the River Meuse. Ecol. Freshw. Fish. 15, 221–228. CrossRef