A magnetic map leads juvenile European eels to the gulf stream
Migration allows animals to track the environmental conditions that maximize growth, survival, and reproduction [1–3]. Improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying migrations allows for improved management of species and ecosystems [1–4]. For centuries, the catadromous European eel ( Anguilla...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.03.015 |
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fteawag:oai:dora:eawag_14328 2024-09-15T17:39:43+00:00 A magnetic map leads juvenile European eels to the gulf stream Naisbett-Jones, Lewis C. Putman, Nathan F. Stephenson, Jessica F. Ladak, Sam Young, Kyle A. 2017 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.03.015 eng eng Elsevier Current Biology--Curr. Biol.--journals:656--0960-9822-- eawag:14328 journal id: journals:656 issn: 0960-9822 e-issn: ut: 000399986500032 scopus: 2-s2.0-85017445725 doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.03.015 local: 18859 uri: pmid: Text Journal Article 2017 fteawag https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.03.015 2024-08-05T03:04:28Z Migration allows animals to track the environmental conditions that maximize growth, survival, and reproduction [1–3]. Improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying migrations allows for improved management of species and ecosystems [1–4]. For centuries, the catadromous European eel ( Anguilla anguilla ) has provided one of Europe's most important fisheries and has sparked considerable scientific inquiry, most recently owing to the dramatic collapse of juvenile recruitment [5]. Larval eels are transported by ocean currents associated with the Gulf Stream System from Sargasso Sea breeding grounds to coastal and freshwater habitats from North Africa to Scandinavia [6, 7]. After a decade or more, maturing adults migrate back to the Sargasso Sea, spawn, and die [8]. However, the migratory mechanisms that bring juvenile eels to Europe and return adults to the Sargasso Sea remain equivocal [9, 10]. Here, we used a “magnetic displacement” experiment [11, 12] to show that the orientation of juvenile eels varies in response to subtle differences in magnetic field intensity and inclination angle along their marine migration route. Simulations using an ocean circulation model revealed that even weakly swimming in the experimentally observed directions at the locations corresponding to the magnetic displacements would increase entrainment of juvenile eels into the Gulf Stream System. These findings provide new insight into the migration ecology and recruitment dynamics of eels and suggest that an adaptive magnetic map, tuned to large-scale features of ocean circulation, facilitates the vast oceanic migrations of the Anguilla genus [7, 13, 14]. Article in Journal/Newspaper Anguilla anguilla European eel DORA Eawag Current Biology 27 8 1236 1240 |
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English |
description |
Migration allows animals to track the environmental conditions that maximize growth, survival, and reproduction [1–3]. Improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying migrations allows for improved management of species and ecosystems [1–4]. For centuries, the catadromous European eel ( Anguilla anguilla ) has provided one of Europe's most important fisheries and has sparked considerable scientific inquiry, most recently owing to the dramatic collapse of juvenile recruitment [5]. Larval eels are transported by ocean currents associated with the Gulf Stream System from Sargasso Sea breeding grounds to coastal and freshwater habitats from North Africa to Scandinavia [6, 7]. After a decade or more, maturing adults migrate back to the Sargasso Sea, spawn, and die [8]. However, the migratory mechanisms that bring juvenile eels to Europe and return adults to the Sargasso Sea remain equivocal [9, 10]. Here, we used a “magnetic displacement” experiment [11, 12] to show that the orientation of juvenile eels varies in response to subtle differences in magnetic field intensity and inclination angle along their marine migration route. Simulations using an ocean circulation model revealed that even weakly swimming in the experimentally observed directions at the locations corresponding to the magnetic displacements would increase entrainment of juvenile eels into the Gulf Stream System. These findings provide new insight into the migration ecology and recruitment dynamics of eels and suggest that an adaptive magnetic map, tuned to large-scale features of ocean circulation, facilitates the vast oceanic migrations of the Anguilla genus [7, 13, 14]. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Naisbett-Jones, Lewis C. Putman, Nathan F. Stephenson, Jessica F. Ladak, Sam Young, Kyle A. |
spellingShingle |
Naisbett-Jones, Lewis C. Putman, Nathan F. Stephenson, Jessica F. Ladak, Sam Young, Kyle A. A magnetic map leads juvenile European eels to the gulf stream |
author_facet |
Naisbett-Jones, Lewis C. Putman, Nathan F. Stephenson, Jessica F. Ladak, Sam Young, Kyle A. |
author_sort |
Naisbett-Jones, Lewis C. |
title |
A magnetic map leads juvenile European eels to the gulf stream |
title_short |
A magnetic map leads juvenile European eels to the gulf stream |
title_full |
A magnetic map leads juvenile European eels to the gulf stream |
title_fullStr |
A magnetic map leads juvenile European eels to the gulf stream |
title_full_unstemmed |
A magnetic map leads juvenile European eels to the gulf stream |
title_sort |
magnetic map leads juvenile european eels to the gulf stream |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.03.015 |
genre |
Anguilla anguilla European eel |
genre_facet |
Anguilla anguilla European eel |
op_relation |
Current Biology--Curr. Biol.--journals:656--0960-9822-- eawag:14328 journal id: journals:656 issn: 0960-9822 e-issn: ut: 000399986500032 scopus: 2-s2.0-85017445725 doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.03.015 local: 18859 uri: pmid: |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.03.015 |
container_title |
Current Biology |
container_volume |
27 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
1236 |
op_container_end_page |
1240 |
_version_ |
1810482016464928768 |