The relationship between the moon cycle and the orientation of glass eels ( Anguilla anguilla ) at sea
Links between the lunar cycle and the life cycle (migration patterns, locomotor activity, pulses in recruitment) of the European eel ( Anguilla anguilla ) are well documented. In this study, we hypothesized that the orientation of glass eels at sea is related to the lunar cycle. The European eel hat...
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsos.190812 2024-06-02T07:55:09+00:00 The relationship between the moon cycle and the orientation of glass eels ( Anguilla anguilla ) at sea Cresci, Alessandro Durif, Caroline M. Paris, Claire B. Thompson, Cameron R. S. Shema, Steven Skiftesvik, Anne Berit Browman, Howard I. Norges Forskningsråd Norwegian Institute of Marine Research project “Fine-scale interactions in the plankton” NSF-OCE Paris Lab at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science of the University of Miami 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190812 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.190812 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.190812 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Royal Society Open Science volume 6, issue 10, page 190812 ISSN 2054-5703 journal-article 2019 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190812 2024-05-07T14:16:57Z Links between the lunar cycle and the life cycle (migration patterns, locomotor activity, pulses in recruitment) of the European eel ( Anguilla anguilla ) are well documented. In this study, we hypothesized that the orientation of glass eels at sea is related to the lunar cycle. The European eel hatches in the Sargasso Sea and migrates across the Atlantic Ocean towards Europe. Upon reaching the continental shelf, the larvae metamorphose into glass eels and migrate up the estuaries, where some individuals colonize freshwater habitats. How glass eels navigate pelagic waters is still an open question. We tested the orientation of 203 glass eels in a transparent circular arena that was drifting in situ during the daytime, in the coastal Norwegian North Sea, during different lunar phases. The glass eels swimming at sea oriented towards the azimuth of the moon at new moon, when the moon rose above the horizon and was invisible but not during the other moon phases. These results suggest that glass eels could use the moon position for orientation at sea and that the detection mechanism involved is not visual. We hypothesize a possible detection mechanism based on global-scale lunar disturbances in electrical fields and discuss the implications of lunar-related orientation for the recruitment of glass eels to estuaries. This behaviour could help glass eels to reach the European coasts during their marine migration. Article in Journal/Newspaper Anguilla anguilla The Royal Society Royal Society Open Science 6 10 190812 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Links between the lunar cycle and the life cycle (migration patterns, locomotor activity, pulses in recruitment) of the European eel ( Anguilla anguilla ) are well documented. In this study, we hypothesized that the orientation of glass eels at sea is related to the lunar cycle. The European eel hatches in the Sargasso Sea and migrates across the Atlantic Ocean towards Europe. Upon reaching the continental shelf, the larvae metamorphose into glass eels and migrate up the estuaries, where some individuals colonize freshwater habitats. How glass eels navigate pelagic waters is still an open question. We tested the orientation of 203 glass eels in a transparent circular arena that was drifting in situ during the daytime, in the coastal Norwegian North Sea, during different lunar phases. The glass eels swimming at sea oriented towards the azimuth of the moon at new moon, when the moon rose above the horizon and was invisible but not during the other moon phases. These results suggest that glass eels could use the moon position for orientation at sea and that the detection mechanism involved is not visual. We hypothesize a possible detection mechanism based on global-scale lunar disturbances in electrical fields and discuss the implications of lunar-related orientation for the recruitment of glass eels to estuaries. This behaviour could help glass eels to reach the European coasts during their marine migration. |
author2 |
Norges Forskningsråd Norwegian Institute of Marine Research project “Fine-scale interactions in the plankton” NSF-OCE Paris Lab at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science of the University of Miami |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cresci, Alessandro Durif, Caroline M. Paris, Claire B. Thompson, Cameron R. S. Shema, Steven Skiftesvik, Anne Berit Browman, Howard I. |
spellingShingle |
Cresci, Alessandro Durif, Caroline M. Paris, Claire B. Thompson, Cameron R. S. Shema, Steven Skiftesvik, Anne Berit Browman, Howard I. The relationship between the moon cycle and the orientation of glass eels ( Anguilla anguilla ) at sea |
author_facet |
Cresci, Alessandro Durif, Caroline M. Paris, Claire B. Thompson, Cameron R. S. Shema, Steven Skiftesvik, Anne Berit Browman, Howard I. |
author_sort |
Cresci, Alessandro |
title |
The relationship between the moon cycle and the orientation of glass eels ( Anguilla anguilla ) at sea |
title_short |
The relationship between the moon cycle and the orientation of glass eels ( Anguilla anguilla ) at sea |
title_full |
The relationship between the moon cycle and the orientation of glass eels ( Anguilla anguilla ) at sea |
title_fullStr |
The relationship between the moon cycle and the orientation of glass eels ( Anguilla anguilla ) at sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
The relationship between the moon cycle and the orientation of glass eels ( Anguilla anguilla ) at sea |
title_sort |
relationship between the moon cycle and the orientation of glass eels ( anguilla anguilla ) at sea |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190812 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.190812 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.190812 |
genre |
Anguilla anguilla |
genre_facet |
Anguilla anguilla |
op_source |
Royal Society Open Science volume 6, issue 10, page 190812 ISSN 2054-5703 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190812 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
190812 |
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1800746283085856768 |