Non‐lethal sampling for the stable isotope analysis of the critically endangered European eel Anguilla anguilla : how fin and mucus compare to dorsal muscle

Abstract Ecological studies on the critically endangered European eel Anguilla anguilla often incorporate stable isotope analysis that typically uses dorsal muscle sampled from euthanised eels. To minimise the lethal sampling of imperilled populations, fin tissue and/or epidermal mucus can provide n...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Fish Biology
Main Authors: Boardman, Rose M., Pinder, Adrian C., Piper, Adam T., Roberts, Catherine Gutmann, Wright, Rosalind M., Britton, J. Robert
Other Authors: Bournemouth University, Environment Agency
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022
Subjects:
Aquatic Science
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Anguilla anguilla
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14992
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jfb.14992
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/jfb.14992
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Summary:Abstract Ecological studies on the critically endangered European eel Anguilla anguilla often incorporate stable isotope analysis that typically uses dorsal muscle sampled from euthanised eels. To minimise the lethal sampling of imperilled populations, fin tissue and/or epidermal mucus can provide non‐lethal alternatives to muscle. The results here indicate that δ 13 C and δ 15 N values of both eel fin and mucus are not significantly different from those of muscle and can be applied directly in comparative SI studies.

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