Social network analysis as a tool to inform anguillid eel conservation and management
Eel Management Plans demand European silver eel (Anguilla anguilla) escapement to the sea of at least 40% of that expected historically in the absence of human impacts. Landlocked lentic waterbodies, such as drinking water reservoirs, host substantial numbers of eel, which could represent a signific...
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ftucl:oai:eprints.ucl.ac.uk.OAI2:10185148 2024-06-23T07:45:33+00:00 Social network analysis as a tool to inform anguillid eel conservation and management Williamson, Michael J Jacoby, David MP Bašić, Tea Walker, Alan Piper, Adam T 2024-03 text https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10185148/8/Williamson_fsae001.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10185148/ eng eng Oxford University Press (OUP) https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10185148/8/Williamson_fsae001.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10185148/ open ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil , 81 (2) pp. 402-410. (2024) Aggregation Anguilla behaviour ecology freshwater lentic network reservoir Article 2024 ftucl 2024-06-12T00:24:40Z Eel Management Plans demand European silver eel (Anguilla anguilla) escapement to the sea of at least 40% of that expected historically in the absence of human impacts. Landlocked lentic waterbodies, such as drinking water reservoirs, host substantial numbers of eel, which could represent a significant contribution to catchment-based conservation targets. To optimize netting strategies for eel management policies, information on their aggregation behaviour is currently needed but lacking. We performed a fine-scale acoustic tracking study to monitor the movements of 86 European eel in a UK reservoir. Social network sampling and sensitivity analyses were used to assess whether eel aggregate at scales relevant for current capture techniques. European eel were found to aggregate at spatial and temporal scales of 50 m and 2 days, respectively, which complements current capture methodologies and recommendations. Aggregations were not driven by fixed resources, indicating that other factors, such as sociality, may drive aggregation behaviour. Results also show that current netting practices could be optimized by increasing netting lengths from 50 to 80 m. In addition to aiding conservation and management protocols, these results provide an ecological foundation for exploring the role of social behaviour in this Critically Endangered species. Article in Journal/Newspaper Anguilla anguilla European eel University College London: UCL Discovery |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University College London: UCL Discovery |
op_collection_id |
ftucl |
language |
English |
topic |
Aggregation Anguilla behaviour ecology freshwater lentic network reservoir |
spellingShingle |
Aggregation Anguilla behaviour ecology freshwater lentic network reservoir Williamson, Michael J Jacoby, David MP Bašić, Tea Walker, Alan Piper, Adam T Social network analysis as a tool to inform anguillid eel conservation and management |
topic_facet |
Aggregation Anguilla behaviour ecology freshwater lentic network reservoir |
description |
Eel Management Plans demand European silver eel (Anguilla anguilla) escapement to the sea of at least 40% of that expected historically in the absence of human impacts. Landlocked lentic waterbodies, such as drinking water reservoirs, host substantial numbers of eel, which could represent a significant contribution to catchment-based conservation targets. To optimize netting strategies for eel management policies, information on their aggregation behaviour is currently needed but lacking. We performed a fine-scale acoustic tracking study to monitor the movements of 86 European eel in a UK reservoir. Social network sampling and sensitivity analyses were used to assess whether eel aggregate at scales relevant for current capture techniques. European eel were found to aggregate at spatial and temporal scales of 50 m and 2 days, respectively, which complements current capture methodologies and recommendations. Aggregations were not driven by fixed resources, indicating that other factors, such as sociality, may drive aggregation behaviour. Results also show that current netting practices could be optimized by increasing netting lengths from 50 to 80 m. In addition to aiding conservation and management protocols, these results provide an ecological foundation for exploring the role of social behaviour in this Critically Endangered species. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Williamson, Michael J Jacoby, David MP Bašić, Tea Walker, Alan Piper, Adam T |
author_facet |
Williamson, Michael J Jacoby, David MP Bašić, Tea Walker, Alan Piper, Adam T |
author_sort |
Williamson, Michael J |
title |
Social network analysis as a tool to inform anguillid eel conservation and management |
title_short |
Social network analysis as a tool to inform anguillid eel conservation and management |
title_full |
Social network analysis as a tool to inform anguillid eel conservation and management |
title_fullStr |
Social network analysis as a tool to inform anguillid eel conservation and management |
title_full_unstemmed |
Social network analysis as a tool to inform anguillid eel conservation and management |
title_sort |
social network analysis as a tool to inform anguillid eel conservation and management |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10185148/8/Williamson_fsae001.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10185148/ |
genre |
Anguilla anguilla European eel |
genre_facet |
Anguilla anguilla European eel |
op_source |
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil , 81 (2) pp. 402-410. (2024) |
op_relation |
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10185148/8/Williamson_fsae001.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10185148/ |
op_rights |
open |
_version_ |
1802640843319803904 |