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Diet of Japanese eels Anguilla japonica in the Kojima Bay-Asahi River system, Japan

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Abstract

The diet of Japanese eels, Anguilla japonica, was investigated using stomach content and stable isotope analyses. Stable isotope enrichment of carbon and nitrogen (Δδ13C and Δδ15N) was first estimated for A. japonica by comparing the isotopic signatures (δ13C and δ15N) of reared eels to that of their food. The estimated isotope enrichment was then applied to the diet estimation of A. japonica in the Kojima Bay-Asahi River system, Japan, combined with conventional stomach content analysis. Stable isotope enrichment varied among tissues, from 0.2‰ to 0.8‰ for carbon and from 1.3‰ to 2.1‰ for nitrogen. Nitrogen isotope enrichment of A. japonica muscle estimated in this study was 2.1‰, which was different from the previously reported mean δ15N enrichment of several animals of 3.4‰. These results indicate that isotope-based diet estimations for A. japonica need to use species- and tissue-specific values of isotope enrichment. In the diet analysis, stomach contents and stable isotopes revealed that (1) A. japonica appear to usually feed on a single type of prey species in each feeding session, (2) principal prey species were mud shrimp, Upogebia major, in brackish Kojima Bay and crayfish, Procambarus clarkia, in the Asahi River, (3) A. japonica in Kojima Bay primarily depend on the pelagic food web as a carbon source due to mud shrimp being filter feeders and eels in the Asahi River primarily depend on the littoral food web. Based on these results and the recently reported eel movements between Kojima Bay and the Asahi River, it appears that A. japonica can adapt to various feeding environments as opportunists, but also utilize the food resources by targeting a single type of prey species during a single feeding session.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mr. and Mrs. Shimizu of Shimizu-Suisan and Mr. Omoto of Momotaro-Suisan for their voluntary help during our eel sampling, and the Fisheries Cooperatives of Kojima Bay, Fisheries Cooperatives of the South Asahi River and the Fisheries Division of Okayama Prefecture for cooperation. We also thank Irago Institute Co., Ltd. for kindly supplying us eel samples for stable isotope analysis. Assistance with the paper by MJ Miller was highly appreciated. This work was partly supported by the Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from The Japan Science Society.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan

    Kenzo Kaifu

  2. Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8563, Japan

    Sachie Miyazaki, Jun Aoyama, Shingo Kimura & Katsumi Tsukamoto

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  1. Kenzo Kaifu
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  2. Sachie Miyazaki
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  3. Jun Aoyama
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  4. Shingo Kimura
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  5. Katsumi Tsukamoto
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Correspondence to Kenzo Kaifu.

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Kaifu, K., Miyazaki, S., Aoyama, J. et al. Diet of Japanese eels Anguilla japonica in the Kojima Bay-Asahi River system, Japan. Environ Biol Fish 96, 439–446 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-012-0027-0

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