Abstract
Food habits and seasonal abundance of the American eel, Anguilla rostrata (Lesueur), were studied from the brackish water regions of three Virginia rivers. Abundance in trawl surveys was related to water temperatures with fewer eels being caught during the colder months. Polychaetes, crustaceans and bivalves were the most important dietary items of A. rostrata in brackish water. There was much predation on the commercially important species Mya arenaria and Callinectes sapidus.
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Contribution no. 657 from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
Adapted from part of a thesis submitted to the College of William and Mary in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Arts in Marine Science by the senior author.
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Wenner, C.A., Musick, J.A. Food habits and seasonal abundance of the American eel, Anguilla rostrata, from the lower Chesapeake Bay. Chesapeake Science 16, 62–66 (1975). https://doi.org/10.2307/1351085
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1351085