Discovering the dominance of the non-native European eel in the upper reaches of the Tone River system, Japan

To investigate the presence of non-native anguillid eels in Japanese waters, 141 eels were collected from seven sampling sites throughout the Tone River system. Genetic species identification showed an extraordinary dominance of the non-native European eel Anguilla anguilla in the uppermost site of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fisheries science 2017-09, Vol.83 (5), p.735-742
Main Authors: Arai, Kohma, Itakura, Hikaru, Yoneta, Akihito, Yoshinaga, Tatsuki, Shirotori, Fumiaki, Kaifu, Kenzo, Kimura, Shingo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age determination
Autosomal dominant inheritance
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Catadromous fishes
Eels
Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management
Food Science
Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Growth curves
Growth rate
Life Sciences
Marine fishes
Original Article
Otoliths
Ponds
Rivers
Species identification
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Summary:To investigate the presence of non-native anguillid eels in Japanese waters, 141 eels were collected from seven sampling sites throughout the Tone River system. Genetic species identification showed an extraordinary dominance of the non-native European eel Anguilla anguilla in the uppermost site of the study area. Estimation of age from otoliths suggested that the European eels were introduced into the river in the 1990s, corresponding to previous reports from other Japanese water systems. Comparison of the von Bertalanffy growth curve parameters indicated that the European eels caught in the Tone River system appeared to have a similar or even higher growth rate than the same species in the original habitats in Europe. The long-term inhabitation and the normal development of European eels in Japanese waters suggest that regulations prohibiting the release of non-native eels and safeguards against accidental escape from culture ponds must be strictly maintained in order to ensure the conservation of the native Japanese eel.
ISSN:0919-9268
1444-2906
DOI:10.1007/s12562-017-1107-z