Oceanic spawning migration of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla).

Full Abstract

European eels (Anguilla anguilla) undertake a approximately 5000-kilometer (km) spawning migration from Europe to the Sargasso Sea. The larvae are transported back to European waters by the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift. However, details of the spawning migration remain unknown because tracking eels in the Atlantic Ocean has, so far, eluded study. Recent advances in satellite tracking enable investigation of migratory behavior of large ocean-dwelling animals. However, sizes of available tags have precluded tracking smaller animals like European eels. Here, we present information about the swimming direction, depth, and migratory behavior of European eels during spawning migration, based on a miniaturized pop-up satellite archival transmitter. Although the tagging experiment fell short of revealing the full migration to the Sargasso Sea, the data covered the first 1300 km and provided unique insights.

Author information

Author/s: Aarestrup, Kim (K); Okland, Finn (F); Hansen, Michael M (MM); Righton, David (D); Gargan, Patrik (P); Castonguay, Martin (M); Bernatchez, Louis (L); Howey, Paul (P); Sparholt, Henrik (H); Pedersen, Michael I (MI); McKinley, Robert S (RS);

Affiliation: Technical University of Denmark (DTU), National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Vejlsøvej 39, DK-8600 Silkeborg, Denmark. kaa(-atsign-)aqua.dtu.dk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Science (New York, N.Y.) (Science), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Sep; vol 325 (issue 5948) : pp 1660

Dates: Created 2009/09/25; Completed 2009/10/09; Revised 2009/11/13;

PMID: 19779192, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/15/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

ErratumIn: Science. 2009 Nov 13;326(5955):936.

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