Early back-calculated size-at-age of Atlantic yellow eels sampled along ecological gradients in the Gironde and St. Lawrence hydrographical systems

An international sampling program investigating the causes of the decline of American eels (Anguilla rostrata) and European eels (Anguilla anguilla) in the St. Lawrence (Canada) and Gironde (France) rivers systems provided the opportunity to compare early growth of eels of each species among habitat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences 2018-08, Vol.75 (8), p.1270-1279
Main Authors: Patey, Géraldine, Couillard, Catherine M, Drouineau, Hilaire, Verreault, Guy, Pierron, Fabien, Lambert, Patrick, Baudrimont, Magalie, Couture, Patrice
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Anguilla anguilla
Anguilla rostrata
Biological age
Biological sampling
Brackish
Case studies
Developmental stages
Downstream
Eels
Environmental conditions
Environmental effects
Environmental Sciences
Estuaries
Estuarine environments
European eel
Fish population declines
Freshwater
Genetic drift
Genetics
Growth
Growth rate
Habitats
Mathematical analysis
Observations
Rivers
Salinity
Salinity effects
Size-at-age
Spatial variations
Spawning
Upstream
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Summary:An international sampling program investigating the causes of the decline of American eels (Anguilla rostrata) and European eels (Anguilla anguilla) in the St. Lawrence (Canada) and Gironde (France) rivers systems provided the opportunity to compare early growth of eels of each species among habitats using back-calculated size-at-age from 1 to 5 years old. Our study supports previous studies showing that the early back-calculated lengths of A. anguilla were higher in downstream and more saline Gironde system habitats than in the upstream fluvial section and provides a new indication that length at 1 year old is twice higher than that reported 10 years earlier. However, our data contradict the current paradigm for A. rostrata by providing evidence that early size-at-age of eels from the upstream St. Lawrence system, most distant from the spawning area, exceeds those of eels sampled downstream, at less distant sites in the estuarine section. Overall, these observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the observed spatial variations in early growth rate of yellow eels sampled in the St. Lawrence and Gironde systems are the consequence of processes occurring in the first year of age, such as genetic selection and (or) genetically dependent habitat choice.
ISSN:0706-652X
1205-7533
DOI:10.1139/cjfas-2017-0025