Diel and seasonal movements of radio-tagged freshwater eels, Anguilla spp., in two New Zealand streams

We studied diel and seasonal movements of 21 radio-tagged shortfinned, Anguilla australis Gray, and longfinned, A. dieffenbachii, eels in two small New Zealand streams. Movements of eels commenced at dusk, with a higher proportion of shortfinned eels moving per night than longfinned eels, and also m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental biology of fishes 2003-02, Vol.66 (2), p.143-154
Main Authors: JELLYMAN, Donald J, SYKES, Julian R. E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agnatha. Pisces
Anguilla australis
Anguilla dieffenbachii
Animal and plant ecology
Animal migration
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Aquatic ecosystems
Aquatic life
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Biotelemetry
Creeks & streams
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Riffles
Streams
Vertebrata
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Summary:We studied diel and seasonal movements of 21 radio-tagged shortfinned, Anguilla australis Gray, and longfinned, A. dieffenbachii, eels in two small New Zealand streams. Movements of eels commenced at dusk, with a higher proportion of shortfinned eels moving per night than longfinned eels, and also moving greater distances. Both species often showed extensive movements immediately after tagging, but thereafter movements were limited. In the smaller stream, home ranges averaged 30 and 10m for shortfinned and longfinned eels, respectively, but not all eels were active on every night. There were no seasonal differences in mean distances moved. In both streams, eel movement was almost exclusively bankside, and seldom cross-channel; eels also showed considerable fidelity to a particular bank. Shortfinned eels were most commonly found in runs, and longfinned eels in riffles.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0378-1909
1573-5133
DOI:10.1023/a:1023691604088