Trophic characterization of the Prévost lagoon (Mediterranean Sea) by the feeding habits of the European eel Anguilla anguilla

• Main Authors: Bouchereau, Jean-Luc, Marques, Catarina, Pereira, Patricia, Guélorget, Olivier, Vergne, Yvan
• Other Authors: Systématique, adaptation, évolution (SAE), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecosystèmes lagunaires : organisation biologique et fonctionnement (ECOLAG), Université Montpellier 2 - Sciences et Techniques (UM2)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2006
• Subjects: Mediterranean; Lagoonal systems; Diet; Opportunism; Bioindicator; Anguilla anguilla; [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology; European eel
• Online Access: https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-00753021

International audience This study deals with temporal variations in eel diet Anguilla anguilla sampled at each of the four seasons in the Languedocian Prévost lagoon (Gulf of Lion) from Autumn 1998 to Summer 1999. The following feeding indices were calculated based on observations of 12 categories of prey found in the contents of full stomachs: coefficient of vacuity CV, degree of fullness DR, occurrence frequency PP, relative abundance N (in %) and relative weight P (in %). The interpretation of results is also based on the Costello's method (1990) which combines PP and N. Anguilla anguilla mainly feeds on benthic organisms, primarily Gammarus gr. locusta, Polychaeta, insect larvae, small fish. Based on variations in eel diet, seasonal influence is illustrated by a decrease in feeding activity in summer which gradually increases during the following seasons. The good trophic quality available to eels in the Prévost lagoon depends on its hydrodynamics which is directly related to the movement of water entering and leaving lagoon by a short communication with the sea. This water movement accelerates the enrichment and production processes of this ecosystem. Changes observed during the four seasons illustrate an opportunistic type of feeding behaviour. Eels consume the most available benthic prey. They favour the importance of the prey at a given moment without using a particular feeding strategy like specialisation or generalisation. Thus, eel adapts its diet in adjusting available energy resources in the ecosystem. Because of this, the lagoon-resident species Anguilla anguilla is an obvious indirect bioindicator of the trophic capacity and present level of confinement in the brackish water lagoon ecosystem of Prévost.