Abstract
All animals have a “life history”, which defines where they live and how they survive and reproduce. The long life history of anguillid eels begins with spawning areas in the ocean and subsequently leads to various juvenile growth habitats in the coastal sea, estuaries, freshwater rivers, ponds, and lakes. They migrate between different aquatic habitats, marine and freshwater, at least twice during their life-history transitions. The first migration of anguillid eels is a larval migration. The larvae hatch in the ocean where they feed and grow while drifting in ocean currents until they are near their nursery habitats. This is followed by the upstream migration of glass eels and elvers that reach the estuaries, and eventually become young yellow eels that seek out growth habitats in coastal and freshwater areas. The second is spawning migration, in which maturing adults return to their spawning areas in the ocean for reproduction. These dynamic migrations make them typical model species of catadromous fish owing to their separated spawning and growth habitats. To make that possible, anguillid eels have evolved unique life history stages, which include their oceanic larvae, the post-metamorphosis juvenile stage that swims from the ocean near the continental shelf to coastal waters and estuaries, the early upstream migration and growth stages, and finally, the maturing reproduction stage. The morphological, ecological, and physiological characteristics of eels vary according to their life history stages, making them a unique creature that might be difficult to identify as a single species. This chapter provides an overview of the unique life history of anguillid eels and their various life history stages.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aoyama J, Wouthuyzen S, Miller MJ, Inagaki T, Tsukamoto K (2003) Short-distance spawning migration of tropical freshwater eels. Biol Bull 204:104–108. https://doi.org/10.2307/1543500
Aoyama J, Watanabe S, Miller MJ, Mochioka N, Otake T, Yoshinaga T, Tsukamoto K (2014) Spawning sites of the Japanese eel in relation to oceanographic structure and the West Mariana Ridge. PLoS One 9:e88759. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0088759
Béguer-Pon M, Castonguay M, Shan S, Benchetrit J, Dodson JJ (2015) Direct observations of American eels migrating across the continental shelf to the Sargasso Sea. Nat Commun 6:8705. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms9705
Bezdenezhnykh VA, Prokhorchik GA, Petrikov AM, Petukhov VB, Plyuta MV (1983) Obtaining the larvae of European eel Anguilla anguilla L. (Pisces, Anguillidae) under experimental conditions. Dokl Akad Nauk SSSR 268:1264–1266
Boëtius I, Boëtius J (1980) Experimental maturation of female silver eels, Anguilla anguilla. Estimates of fecundity and energy reserves for migration and spawning. Dana 1:1–28. https://www.aqua.dtu.dk/-/media/institutter/aqua/publikationer/dana/dana_vol_1_pp_1_28.pdf. Accessed 8 June 2023
Bonhommeau S, Castonguay M, Rivot E, Sabatié R, Le Pape O (2010) The duration of migration of Atlantic Anguilla larvae. Fish Fish 11:289–306. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-2979.2010.00362.x
Castonguay M, McCleave JD (1987) Vertical distributions, diel and ontogenetic vertical migrations and net avoidance of leptocephali of Anguilla and other common species in the Sargasso Sea. J Plankton Res 9:195–214. https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/9.1.195
Chambers RC, Leggett WC (1996) Maternal influences on variation in egg sizes in temperate marine fishes. Am Zool 36:180–196. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/36.2.180
Chow S, Kurogi H, Katayama S, Ambe D, Okazaki M, Watanabe T, Ichikawa T, Kodama M, Aoyama J, Shinoda A, Watanabe S, Tsukamoto K, Miyazaki S, Kimura S, Yamada Y, Nomura K, Tanaka H, Kazeto Y, Hata K, Handa T, Tawa A, Mochioka N (2010) Japanese eel Anguilla japonica do not assimilate nutrition during the oceanic spawning migration: evidence from stable isotope analysis. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 402:233–238. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08448
Daverat F, Tomas J, Lahaye M, Palmer M, Elie P (2005) Tracking continental habitat shifts of eels using otolith Sr/ca ratios: validation and application to the coastal, estuarine and riverine eels of the Gironde–Garonne–Dordogne watershed. Mar Freshw Res 56:619–627. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF04175
Dou SZ, Yamada Y, Okamura A, Tanaka S, Shinoda A, Tsukamoto K (2007) Observations on the spawning behavior of artificially matured Japanese eels Anguilla japonica in captivity. Aquaculture 266:117–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2007.02.032
Fukuda N, Miller MJ, Aoyama J, Shinoda A, Tsukamoto K (2013) Evaluation of the pigmentation stages and body proportions from the glass eel to yellow eel in Anguilla japonica. Fish Sci 79:425–438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-013-0621-x
Geffroy B, Bardonnet A (2016) Sex differentiation and sex determination in eels: consequences for management. Fish Fish 17:375–398. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12113
Gross MR, Coleman RM, McDowall RM (1988) Aquatic productivity and the evolution of diadromous fish migration. Science 239:1291–1293. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.239.4845.1291
Hagihara S, Aoyama J, Limbong D, Tsukamoto K (2018) Age and growth of migrating tropical eels, Anguilla celebesensis and Anguilla marmorata. J Fish Biol 92:1526–1544. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.13608
Haro AJ, Krueger WH (1988) Pigmentation, size, and migration of elvers (Anguilla rostrata (Lesueur)) in a coastal Rhode-Island stream. Can J Zool 66:2528–2533. https://doi.org/10.1139/z88-375
Inoue JG, Miya M, Miller MJ, Sado T, Hanel R, Hatooka K, Aoyama J, Minegishi Y, Nishida M, Tsukamoto K (2010) Deep-ocean origin of the freshwater eels. Biol Lett 6:363–366. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0989
Jellyman DJ (1977) Invasion of a New Zealand freshwater stream by glass-eels of two Anguilla spp. NZ J Mar Freshw Res 11:193–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288330.1977.9515673
Jellyman DJ (1995) Longevity of longfinned eels Anguilla dieffenbachii in a New Zealand high country lake. Ecol of Freshw Fish 4:106–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0633.1995.tb00123.x
Jessop BM (2010) Geographic effects on American eel (Anguilla rostrata) life history characteristics and strategies. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 67:326–346. https://doi.org/10.1139/F09-189
Jessop BM, Shiao JC, Iizuka Y, Tzeng WN (2004) Variation in the annual growth, by sex and migration history, of silver American eels Anguilla rostrata. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 272:231–244. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps272231
Kuroki M, Aoyama J, Miller MJ, Wouthuyzen S, Arai T, Tsukamoto K (2006) Contrasting patterns of growth and migration of tropical anguillid leptocephali in the western Pacific and Indonesian seas. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 309:233–246. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps309233
Kuroki M, Miller MJ, Tsukamoto K (2014) Diversity of early life-history traits in freshwater eels and the evolution of their oceanic migrations. Can J Zool 92:749–770. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2013-0303
Leander NJ, Shen KN, Chen RT, Tzeng WN (2012) Species composition and seasonal occurrence of recruiting glass eels (Anguilla spp.) in the Hsiukuluan River, eastern Taiwan. Zool Stud 51:59–71
Lokman PM, Young G (2000) Induced spawning and early ontogeny of New Zealand freshwater eels (Anguilla dieffenbachii and A. australis). NZ J Mar Freshw Res 34:135–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288330.2000.9516921
McDowall RM (1987) Evolution and importance of diadromy: the occurrence and distribution of diadromy among fishes. In: Dadswell MJ, Klauda RJ, Moffitt CM, Saunders RL, Rulifson RA, Cooper JE (eds) Common strategies of anadromous and catadromous fishes, vol 1. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD, pp 1–13
McDowall RM (1988) Diadromy in fishes: migrations between freshwater and marine environments. Croom Helm, London, p 308
Miller MJ (2009) Ecology of anguilliform leptocephali: remarkable transparent fish larvae of the ocean surface layer. Aqua-BioSci Monogr 2(4):1–94
Miller MJ, Tsukamoto K (2004) An introduction to leptocepahali: biology and identification. Ocean Research Institute, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 96 pp
Miller MJ, Bonhommeau S, Munk P, Castonguay M, Hanel R, McCleave JD (2015) A century of research on the larval distributions of the Atlantic eels: a reexamination of the data. Biol Rev 90:1035–1064. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12144
Okamura A, Yamada Y, Yokouchi K, Horie N, Mikawa N, Utoh T, Tanaka S, Tsukamoto K (2007) A silvering index for the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica. Environ Biol Fish 80:77–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-006-9121-5
Oliveira K, McCleave JD (2000) Variation in population and life history traits of the American eel, Anguilla rostrata, in four rivers in Maine. Environ Biol Fish 59:141–151. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007631108201
Otake T, Inagaki T, Hasumoto H, Mochioka N, Tsukamoto K (1998) Diel vertical distribution of Anguilla japonica leptocephali. Ichthyol Res 45:208–211. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02678565
Pfeiler E (1999) Developmental physiology of elopomorph leptocephali. Comp Biochem Physiol A 123:113–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1095-6433%2899%2900028-8
Poole WR, Reynolds JD (1996) Growth rate and age at migration of Anguilla anguilla. J Fish Biol 48:633–642. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1996.tb01458.x
Robinet T, Feunteun E (2002) First observations of shortfinned Anguilla bicolor bicolor and longfinned Anguilla marmorata silver eels in the Réunion Island. Bull Fr Pêche Piscic 364:87–95. https://doi.org/10.1051/kmae:2002004
Robinet T, Réveillac E, Kuroki M, Aoyama J, Tsukamoto K, Rabenevanana MW, Valade P, Gagnaire P-A, Berrebi P, Feunteun E (2008) New clues for freshwater eels (Anguilla spp.) migration routes to eastern Madagascar and surrounding islands. Mar Biol 154:453–463. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-008-0938-7
Schmidt J (1922) The breeding places of the eel. Philos Trans R Soc Lond Ser B 211:179–208
Shimizu A, Ijiri S, Izumi H, Gen K, Kurogi H, Hashimoto H, Tanaka H, Jinbo T, Saito H, Chow S (2021) Histological evidence of multiple spawning in wild female Japanese eel Anguilla japonica. Zool Stud 60:61. https://doi.org/10.6620/ZS.2021.60-61
Stearns SC (1992) The evolution of life histories. Oxford University, London
Strubberg AC (1913) The metamorphosis of elvers as influenced by outward conditions. Medd Komm Havunders ser Fisk 4:1–11
Sudo R, Fukuda N, Aoyama J, Tsukamoto K (2013) Age and body size of Japanese eels, Anguilla japonica, at the silver-stage in the Hamana Lake system, Japan. Coast Mar Sci 36:13–18. https://doi.org/10.15083/00040623
Takeuchi A, Sawayama E, Kuroki M, Miller MJ, Watanabe S, Tsukamoto K (2022) Preliminary insight into parental contributions to Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) preleptocephali spawned on different nights. J Fish Biol 101:1601–1605. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15215
Thibault I, Dodson JJ, Caron F (2007) Yellow-stage American eel movements determined by microtagging and acoustic telemetry in the St Jean river watershed, Gaspé, Quebec, Canada. J Fish Biol 71:1095–1112. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2007.01584.x
Todd PR (1980) Size and age of migrating New Zealand freshwater eels (Anguilla spp.). NZ J Mar Freshw Res 14:283–293. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288330.1980.9515871
Tsukamoto K (1992) Discovery of the spawning area for Japanese eel. Nature 356:789–791. https://doi.org/10.1038/356789a0
Tsukamoto K, Miller MJ (2021) The mysterious feeding ecology of leptocephali: a unique strategy of consuming marine snow materials. Fish Sci 87:11–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-020-01477-3
Tsukamoto K, Nakai I, Tesch W (1998) Do all freshwater eels migrate? Nature 396:635–636. https://doi.org/10.1038/25264
Tsukamoto K, Aoyama J, Miller MJ (2002) Migration, speciation and the evolution of diadromy in anguillid eels. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 59:1989–1998. https://doi.org/10.1139/f02-165
Tsukamoto K, Miller MJ, Kotake A, Aoyama J, Uchida K (2009a) The origin of fish migration: the random escapement hypothesis. In: Haro AJ, Smith KL, Rulifson RA, Moffitt CM, Klauda RJ, Dadswell MJ, Cunjak RA, Cooper JE, Beal KL, Avery TS (eds) Challenges for diadromous fishes in a dynamic global environment, vol 69. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD, pp 45–61
Tsukamoto K, Yamada Y, Okamura A, Kaneko T, Tanaka H, Miller MJ, Horie N, Mikawa N, Utoh T, Tanaka S (2009b) Positive buoyancy in eel leptocephali: an adaptation for life in the ocean surface layer. Mar Biol 156:835–846. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-008-1123-8
Tsukamoto K, Chow S, Otake T, Kurogi H, Mochioka N, Miller MJ, Aoyama J, Kimura S, Watanabe S, Yoshinaga T, Shinoda A, Kuroki M, Oya M, Watanabe T, Hata K, Ijiri S, Kazeto Y, Nomura K, Tanaka H (2011) Oceanic spawning ecology of freshwater eels in the western North Pacific. Nat Commun 2:179. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1174
van Ginneken V, Antonissen E, Müller UK, Booms R, Eding E, Verreth J, van den Thillart G (2005a) Eel migration to the Sargasso: remarkably high swimming efficiency and low energy costs. J Exp Biol 208:1329–1335. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.01524
van Ginneken V, Vianen G, Muusze B, Palstra A, Verschoor L, Lugten O, Onderwater M, Schievan S, Niemantsverdriet P, van Heeswijk R, Eding E, van den Thillart G (2005b) Gonad development and spawning behavior of artificially matured European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.). Anim Biol 55:203–218. https://doi.org/10.1163/1570756054472791
Walsh CT, Pease BC, Booth DJ (2003) Sexual dimorphism and gonadal development of the Australian longfinned river eel. J Fish Biol 63:137–152. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1095-8649.2003.00136.x
Walsh CT, Pease BC, Booth DJ (2004) Variation in the sex ratio, size and age of longfinned eels within and among coastal catchments of South-Eastern Australia. J Fish Biol 64:1297–1312. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-1112.2004.00392.x
Yamada Y, Zhang H, Okamura A, Tanaka S, Horie N, Mikawa N, Utoh T, Oka HP (2001) Morphological and histological changes in the swim bladder during maturation of the Japanese eel. J Fish Biol 58:804–814. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2001.tb00532.x
Yamamoto K, Yamauchi K (1974) Sexual maturation of Japanese eel and production of eel larvae in the aquarium. Nature 251:220–222. https://doi.org/10.1038/251220a0
Yokouchi K, Sudo R, Kaifu K, Aoyama J, Tsukamoto K (2009) Biological characteristics of silver-phase Japanese eels, Anguilla japonica, collected from Hamana Lake, Japan. Coast Mar Sci 33:54–63. https://doi.org/10.15083/00040704
Yokouchi K, Fukuda N, Miller MJ, Aoyama J, Daverat F, Tsukamoto K (2012) Influences of early habitat use on the migratory plasticity and demography of Japanese eels in Central Japan. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 107:132–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2012.05.009
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kuroki, M. (2023). Life History. In: Tsukamoto, K., Kuroki, M., Watanabe, S. (eds) Eel Science. Fisheries Science Series. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5692-0_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5692-0_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-99-5691-3
Online ISBN: 978-981-99-5692-0
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)