Waterfowl hunting wetlands as habitat for two New Zealand eel species

Stewart, Cohen; Garrick, Erin; McDougall, Matthew; Moss, Zane N.

doi:10.1080/03014223.2021.1885454

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Small ponds, numerous and widespread around the world (Lehner et al, 2011) and capable of supporting high eel densities (Stewart et al, 2021; Table S5), clearly affect anguillid conservation. Small dams both create habitat and disrupt access to it.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, abundant eel populations sometimes coexist with dams, both small and large. Artificial duck ponds in New Zealand's Southland support high densities of shortfin ( Anguilla australis ) and longfin ( A. dieffenbachii ) eels (Stewart et al, 2021). In the St. Lawrence system, Lake Ontario and Lake Champlain maintained high American eel production for 70 and 140 years, respectively, after the first damming of their outlet rivers (Les Cèdres Dam, main St. Lawrence channel, 1913–1914; St.…”

Section: Novel Ideas and Underutilised Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Thirteen novel ideas and underutilised resources to support progress towards a range‐wide American eel stock assessment

Cairns

Benchetrit

Bernatchez

et al. 2022

Fisheries Management Eco

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A robust assessment of the American eel (Anguilla rostrata) stock, required to guide conservation efforts, is challenged by the species’ vast range, high variability in demographic parameters and data inadequacies. Novel ideas and underutilised resources that may assist both analytic assessments and spatially oriented modelling include (1) species and environmental databases; (2) mining of data from scattered sources; (3) infilling of data gaps by spatial analysis; (4) age estimation from measurements of DNA methylation; evaluation of eel abundance by (5) larval, (6) glass‐bottom boat, (7) net enclosure and (8) eDNA surveys; (9) accounting for dam‐induced habitat increases in eel watercourse modelling; (10) spatially oriented modelling with and without temporal components; (11) geographically nested modelling of glass eel recruitment; (12) spawner per recruit modelling and (13) life cycle modelling to examine larval allocation effects. Eel biologists are too few to gather the required assessment data across all of the species’ range. Public posting of electrofishing and eDNA metabarcoding data sets and the use of machine learning techniques to comprehensively inventory small dams will help meet some data needs. These approaches address only a small proportion of the assessment challenges that face American eels. Worldwide collaboration amongst Anguilla scientists is a key enabler of progress towards stock assessment goals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Novel Ideas and Underutilised Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thirteen novel ideas and underutilised resources to support progress towards a range‐wide American eel stock assessment

Cairns

Benchetrit

Bernatchez

et al. 2022

Fisheries Management Eco

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, macrophytes periodically block the wetland outfall which causes spillage at the emergency overflow (pers. comm M. Sutton, Waiau Trust), providing passage for eels which are highly proficient climbers (Boubée et al, 1999; Stewart et al, 2022).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To determine the size of the longfin and shortfin eel population in each wetland, we conducted consecutive depletion surveys over four nights (Jellyman & Crow, 2016; Stewart et al, 2022). After each overnight set, we cleared the nets and separated the eels by species (longfin vs shortfin) – identified according to morphological features (McDowall, 1990).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can non‐native perch (Perca fluviatilis) support native eel populations in a wetland complex?

Stewart,

Harper,

Couper

et al. 2023

Ecology of Freshwater Fish

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It is well established that non‐native fish can become invasive and outcompete and displace native fish populations. However, little research has explored the potential benefits that non‐native fish may provide to native fish populations. To address this information gap, we examined how the availability of non‐native perch (Perca fluviatilis) as prey could benefit populations of the endemic longfin eel (Anguilla dieffenbachii) and the native shortfin eel (Anguilla australis) in two neighbouring open‐water wetlands in the Rakatu‐Redcliff wetland complex in the Southland region of Aotearoa New Zealand. The Redcliff wetland fish community comprised native fish only, while the Rakatu wetland comprised native fish and non‐native perch. We compared the size, condition, population density, population size structure and diet of eels in these wetlands. While eels were not necessarily larger or better conditioned in Rakatu wetland, their population density was three times higher than the Redcliff wetland, with young‐of‐the‐year perch comprising ca. 40% of their diet. Furthermore, juvenile eel density was four times lower in Redcliff wetland, suggesting that cannibalism may occur at this site to support the existing eel population. Based on our findings, we suggest that freshwater managers consider the predator–prey dynamics of both native and non‐native fish before removing non‐native species, to avoid unintended negative consequences for native predatory fish species.

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Waterfowl hunting wetlands as habitat for two New Zealand eel species

Cited by 2 publications

References 28 publications

Thirteen novel ideas and underutilised resources to support progress towards a range‐wide American eel stock assessment

Thirteen novel ideas and underutilised resources to support progress towards a range‐wide American eel stock assessment

Can non‐native perch (Perca fluviatilis) support native eel populations in a wetland complex?

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