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Fecundity of the tropical catadromous eels Anguilla bicolor bicolor, A. bengalensis bengalensis and A. marmorata

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Abstract

Maturation is one of the most important ontogenetic transitions in an individual’s life. However, the reproductive ecology of the tropical anguillid eel genus Anguilla at the onset of oceanic spawning migration is poorly understood. To understand the reproductive ecology, the fecundity of the tropical eels Anguilla bicolor bicolor, A. bengalensis bengalensis and A. marmorata was examined using advanced migrating silver eels (Stage IV and V). A close linear relationship was found between total length and fecundity in A. bengalensis bengalensis. The fecundities of A. bicolor bicolor (0.55 to 4.96 × 106), A. bengalensis bengalensis (0.33–1.72 × 106) and A. marmorata (0.99 × 106) were within the range of those observed in temperate eels.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (Vot No. 59406) and by Universiti Brunei Darussalam under the Competitive Research Grant Scheme (Vot No. UBD/OVACRI/CRGWG(003)). Our protocol was in accordance with a guide for animal experimentation at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) and fish-handling approval was granted by the animal experiment committee of UMT.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Oceanography and Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia

    Siti Rauda Abdul Kadir & Liyana Yamin

  2. Environmental and Life Sciences Programme, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, BE, 1410, Brunei Darussalam

    Takaomi Arai

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  1. Siti Rauda Abdul Kadir
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  2. Liyana Yamin
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  3. Takaomi Arai
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Correspondence to Takaomi Arai.

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Abdul Kadir, S.R., Yamin, L. & Arai, T. Fecundity of the tropical catadromous eels Anguilla bicolor bicolor, A. bengalensis bengalensis and A. marmorata . Environ Biol Fish 100, 1643–1648 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-017-0671-5

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