The genus Anguilla Schrank, 1798: current state of knowledge and questions

Lecomte-Finiger, R.

doi:10.1023/b:rfbf.0000033072.03829.6d

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…Preferences for riverine habitats may vary between eel species and also size classes, with large individuals usually found in large, deep pools and smaller individuals in shallow, faster-flowing habitats (Valade et al, 2018). However, where several species of riverine eels occur within the same catchment and use similar habitats, they may exhibit local differences in mesohabitat use or feeding habits (Lecomte-Finiger, 2003;Robinet et al, 2007), or exhibit differences in diel or seasonal activity, as for sympatric eel species in New Zealand (Jellyman & Sykes, 2003). In rivers, once yellow eels have settled in a locality, they are generally considered to be sedentary, as observed for the European eel Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758) (Ovidio et al, 2013), and A. dieffenbachii Gray, 1842and A. australis (Richardson, 1841 in New Zealand (Jellyman & Sykes, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial ecology of freshwater eels in South Africa: implications for conservation

et al. 2021

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Four freshwater eel species (Anguilla spp.) occur in southern African rivers that are increasingly anthropogenically modified. Information on movements, habitat use and overlap by African eels is needed for their conservation. We carried out a preliminary investigation of the spatial ecology of three eel species in the Thukela River, South Africa, using radio-telemetry. Nineteen yellow-stage eels were surgically implanted with radio-tags, comprising A. mossambica (n = 2), A. bengalensis (n = 9) and A. marmorata (n = 8), and tracked from October 2018 to August 2019. Tagged eels exhibited high individual variability in space use. We recorded very small home ranges in winter for all species. A lack of apparent territoriality at inter-and intra-specific levels was observed. Eel species tended to use similar mesohabitats, especially glides, but habitat preference changed across seasons, and between species, suggesting fine-scale spatial and temporal niche partitioning. Given the breadth of flow typologies used by Thukela eels across the seasons, conservation of these long-lived species indicates that management of river flows needs to be sensitive to their habitat requirements all year round, but in many water-stressed South African rivers, this may be unlikely. Maintaining good habitat connectivity for these migrant species must be prioritised.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial ecology of freshwater eels in South Africa: implications for conservation

et al. 2021

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“…In this article, we review the available literature on the oceanic migration of Atlantic eel larvae, with a special emphasis on the migration duration. Recent reviews of Lecomte‐Finiger (2003), van Ginneken and Maes (2005) and McCleave (2008) provide interesting synthesis, but none of them focuses on the duration of the migration of eel larvae, although this is one of the most critical features of the oceanic larval stage. This article first aims at reviewing the results of the different methods used to determine the duration of migration of Atlantic eels (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The duration of migration of Atlantic Anguilla larvae

et al. 2010

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Abstract:Oceanic larvae of the European (Anguilla anguilla) and American (A. rostrata) eels have to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the Sargasso Sea to European or North American coasts before entering continental habitats. In some European rivers, eel recruitment is now <1% of levels in the 1980s. A better understanding of the effects of anthropogenic pressures and environmental fluctuations on eel larvae and subsequent recruitment is a prerequisite to build efficient management plans. The present paper provides insight into the critical oceanic phase of the eel life cycle with a focus on the duration of the larval migration whose estimates varies between 7 months and more than 2 years in both species. Does this range correspond to a natural variability in larval duration or does it stem from methodological artefacts? We first review the different methods used to estimate the duration of larval migration and critically describe their possible sources of misinterpretation. We then evaluate the consistency of these methods with the current knowledge about the ecology and physiology of eel larvae and the physical oceanography. While a moderate discrepancy in migration duration was found between methods for the American eel, the discrepancy was large in the European eel. In this species, otolith microstructure studies indicated migration durations between 7 and 9 months, while other methods pointed to durations of about 2 years. We show that estimates in favour of a long migration duration seem more robust to methodological caveats than methods estimating short durations of migration.

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“…The European and American eel overlap in many morphological parameters and only differ in vertebral counts (Figure 1) [44][45][46] but are considered as sister species based on mitogenomic differences [47]. Divergence time between the two species is estimated to range between 1.3-2.4 Mya [19], based on the joint allele frequency spectrum (JAFS) and PSMC plots, and 3.8 Mya [30], based on the mitogenome.…”

Section: Signatures Of Selection Between European and American Eelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several genetic studies have detected hybrid individuals in larvae, juvenile and adult samples, with the highest signatures of admixture detected in Iceland on the basis of vertebrae counts (Figure 1) and especially molecular data [15,44,49,[51][52][53]. The European and American eel overlap in many morphological parameters and only differ in vertebral counts (Figure 1) [44][45][46] but are considered as sister species based on mitogenomic differences [47]. Divergence time between the two species is estimated to range between 1.3-2.4 Mya [19], based on the joint allele frequency spectrum (JAFS) and PSMC plots, and 3.8 Mya [30], based on the mitogenome.…”

Section: Signatures Of Selection Between European and American Eelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Footprints of Natural Selection in North Atlantic Eels: A Review

Pujolar

Bertolini

Jacobsen

2022

Fishes

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The study of natural selection and local adaptation is a thriving field of research. Local adaptation is driven by environment components and results in locally adapted phenotypes with higher fitness relative to other phenotypes from other locations in the species range. Tests of local adaptations have traditionally been done using transplant experiments, but the advent of next-generation sequencing methods have allowed the study of local adaptation to move from a phenotypic to a genomic approach. By using genome scans and state-of-the-art statistical tests, researchers can identify genes putatively under selection and study the genomic architecture of local adaptation, which often includes the observation of clustering of adaptive genes concentrated in fewer genomic regions known as “genomic islands of divergence”. The two species of North Atlantic eels, the European and the American eel, are excellent species for studying selection since they are panmictic and present large population sizes, show a wide distribution range across extremely heterogenous environments, and are subject to high mortalities. We reviewed studies of natural selection and local adaptation in American eel, European eel, between life cycle stages, between European and American eel. Finally, we discussed genome architecture in relation to local adaptation in eels and the role of both genetic (i.e., local adaptation) and non-genetic (i.e., phenotypic plasticity) in the survival of eels across their distribution range.

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The genus Anguilla Schrank, 1798: current state of knowledge and questions

Cited by 13 publications

References 82 publications

Spatial ecology of freshwater eels in South Africa: implications for conservation

Spatial ecology of freshwater eels in South Africa: implications for conservation

The duration of migration of Atlantic Anguilla larvae

Footprints of Natural Selection in North Atlantic Eels: A Review

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