Estimates of the mortality and the duration of the trans-Atlantic migration of European eel Anguilla anguilla leptocephali using a particle tracking model.

• Published in: Journal of Fish Biology
• Main Authors: Bonhommeau, S., Le Pape, Olivier, Gascuel, Didier, Blanke, B., Tréguier, Anne-Marie, Grima, N., Vermard, Y., Castonguay, M., Rivot, Etienne
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'Ecologie Halieutique - Agrocampus Ouest, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Laboratoire de physique des océans (LPO), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Pêches et Oceans Canada
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2009
• Subjects: Lagrangian modelling; leptocephalus mortality; migration duration; [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography; Anguilla anguilla; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00453530; https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2009.02298.x

International audience Using Lagrangian simulations, based on circulation models over three different hydroclimatic periods in the last 45 years in the North Atlantic Ocean, the trans-Atlantic migration of the European eel Anguilla anguilla leptocephali was simulated via the passive drift of particles released in the spawning area. Three different behaviours were modelled: drifting at fixed depth, undergoing a vertical migration or choosing the fastest currents. Simulations included mortality hypotheses to estimate a realistic mean migration duration and relative survival of A. anguilla larvae. The mean migration duration was estimated as 21 months and the mortality rate as 3·8 per year, i.e. < 0·2% of A. anguilla larvae may typically survive the trans-Atlantic migration.