Sex differentiation and sex determination in eels: consequences for management

Abstract The aim of this review is to present an overview of the sex differentiation and sex determination processes in eels in relation to the urgent need to provide scientific knowledge to better protect and manage the Anguilla genus. Indeed, the global decline of the three main temperate eel stoc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fish and Fisheries
Main Authors: Geffroy, Benjamin, Bardonnet, Agnès
Other Authors: CAPES-Ciência Sem Fronteiras, Office National de l'Eau et des Milieux Aquatiques (ONEMA), Interreg IV B Atlantic area transnational programme (European Regional Development Fund), Arc Atlantic Resource Conservation (AARC) programme
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015
Subjects:
Anguilla anguilla
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/faf.12113
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Ffaf.12113
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/faf.12113
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Summary:Abstract The aim of this review is to present an overview of the sex differentiation and sex determination processes in eels in relation to the urgent need to provide scientific knowledge to better protect and manage the Anguilla genus. Indeed, the global decline of the three main temperate eel stocks, Anguilla anguilla , Anguillidae (Fisheries Management and Ecology, 2003, 10, 365); Anguilla japonica , Anguillidae (Casselman, Eel Biology, Springer Japan, 2003, 293) and Anguilla rostrata, Anguillidae (Tatsukawa, Eel Biology, Springer, Japan, 2003, 255), raises concerns about the necessity to better understand all stages of the life cycle of eels (Righton and Walker, Journal of Fish Biology, 2013, 83, 754). Little is known about the mechanisms involved in the production of males and females in this species with environmental sex determination. Previous reviews identifying the density of individuals as the major factor influencing sex determination were undertaken (Krueger and Oliveira, Environmental Biology of Fishes, 1999, 55, 381; Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 2005, 15, 37). Here, we review the current advances on the subject, focusing on the roles of early growth rate and interindividual relationships, which are mechanisms underpinned by density, as well as the sex differentiation process, and we question how this knowledge might influence global conservation measures.

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