Relationship between locomotor activity, environmental factors, and timing of the spawning migration in the European eel, Anguilla anguilla

• Main Authors: Durif, Caroline M. F., Travade, F., Rives, Jacques, Elie, Pierre, Gosset, Claude
• Other Authors: INSTITUT OF MARINE RESEARCH OSLO NOR, Partenaires IRSTEA, Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), Ecosystèmes estuariens et poissons migrateurs amphihalins (UR EPBX), Centre national du machinisme agricole, du génie rural, des eaux et forêts (CEMAGREF), EDF (EDF), Ecologie Comportementale et Biologie des Populations de Poissons (ECOBIOP), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour (UPPA)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2008
• Subjects: ATLANTIQUE OCEAN; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Anguilla anguilla
• Online Access: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02590605; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02590605/document; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02590605/file/21865_20091214014103716_1.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1051/alr:2008031

International audience At the onset of sexual maturation, European eels Anguilla anguilla exhibit high locomotor activity which may correspond to migratory restlessness. We measured activity of captive eels and determined whether it correlated with downstream runs of silver eels as well as changes in environmental factors. Groups of eels at different stages of the silvering process (yellow to silver stage) were tagged and placed in separate tanks supplied with either river or tap water. Activity was measured by means of a flat-board antenna placed vertically in the middle of the tank at the surface of the water.Wild migrating silver eels were caught in the nearby river. Activity of eels in the river water tanks increased 1 to 2 days before downstream migrating eels were caught in the trap, and concurrently with a rise in turbidity and a decrease in conductivity. Activity of eels in the tap water tank showed a different pattern, which did not correspond to downstream runs. A peak in activity corresponded to a drop in tap water pH. It is concluded that eels do show periods of high locomotor activity at the onset of migration and this could be used to predict downstream migration. Movements are triggered by changes in water composition (as opposed to changes in discharge, atmospheric pressure and lunar cycle) measured using turbidity and/or conductivity as proxies. If eels are able to detect such small changes in water conductivity (80 μS cm−1), they may use it to find their way to the estuary. Au tout début de leur maturation sexuelle, les anguilles européennes, Anguilla anguilla, présentent une forte agitation qui pourrait correspondre aux premiers mouvements migratoires. L'objectif de cette étude est de déterminer si ces périodes d'activité correspondent aux pics de dévalaison d'anguilles argentées en rivière et si elles peuvent être associées aux variations de certains facteurs environnementaux. Plusieurs lots d'anguilles (stades jaune et argenté) ont été marqués et placés dans des bassins séparés, ...