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Ecological plasticity of the European eel Anguilla anguilla in a tidal Atlantic lake system in Ireland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 February 2019

Takaomi Arai Open the ORCID record for Takaomi Arai [Opens in a new window] ,
Aya Kotake ,
Chris Harrod ,
Michelle Morrissey  and
T. Kieran McCarthy
Takaomi Arai*
Affiliation:
Environmental and Life Sciences Programme, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, BE 1410, Brunei Darussalam
Aya Kotake
Affiliation:
Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8564, Japan
Chris Harrod
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland Instituto de Ciencias Naturales Alexander Von Humboldt, Universidad de Antofagasta, Avenida Angamos 601, Antofagasta, Chile
Michelle Morrissey
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland
T. Kieran McCarthy
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland
*
Author for correspondence: Takaomi Arai, E-mail: takaomi.arai@ubd.edu.bn
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Abstract

Recent studies have shown that anguillid eel populations in habitats spanning the marine–freshwater ecotone can display extreme plasticity in the range of catadromy expressed by individual fish. The apparent use of marine and freshwater habitats by the European eel Anguilla anguilla was examined by analysing the strontium (Sr) and calcium (Ca) concentrations in otoliths of eels collected from a tidal Atlantic lake system in Ireland. Variations of the Sr:Ca ratio in the otoliths indicated that a variety of environmental salinities had been experienced in the habitats that were occupied during the growth phase of these individuals in the tidal Atlantic lake system. The otolith microchemistry of these eels indicated that most of the eels had entered each salinity environment (freshwater (FW); brackish water (BW); marine-dominated water (MW) and full seawater (SW)) from fresh water to full seawater just after recruitment and had stayed in each environment until maturation without movement to other salinity environments. Only 2 of 93 (2%) eels had shifted their habitat once in their lives. This result suggests that each individual might have an environmental habitat preference, although each individual could move along a short (<2 km) salinity gradient.

Keywords

Anguillid eelhabitat usemigrationotolith microchemistrysalinity gradient
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 99 , Issue 5 , August 2019 , pp. 1189 - 1195
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2019 

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