Movement behaviour of large female yellow European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) in a freshwater polder area |
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| Authors: | Pieterjan Verhelst Jan Reubens Ine Pauwels David Buysse Bart Aelterman Stijn Van Hoey Peter Goethals Tom Moens Johan Coeck Ans Mouton |
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| Institution: | 1. Marine Biology Research Group, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium;2. Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Brussels, Belgium;3. Flanders Marine Institute, Ostend, Belgium;4. Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium |
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| Abstract: | Due to a recruitment decline of more than 90% in 30 years, the European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) has been classified by IUCN as critically endangered. Although the species has been studied intensively to obtain knowledge to improve management, studies about the resident yellow stage are relatively scarce. In this study, 52 large female yellow eels were tagged with acoustic transmitters in a Belgian polder system and tracked by a network of 23 automatic listening stations. We studied both circadian and seasonal movement patterns and the effect of environmental variables on these patterns. Large female yellow eels were most active at night in late summer and early autumn. A generalised linear mixed model showed that their movement is only slightly influenced by environmental variables. Moreover, as yellow eels show high site fidelity (i.e., the majority was detected only in the habitat type of their catch‐release location), they do not encounter many human‐induced connectivity problems in polder systems, which makes these systems highly suitable as eel growth habitat. These results can contribute to an effective eel management regarding habitat protection and restoration. |
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| Keywords: | acoustic telemetry circadian European eel movement movement range seasonal |
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