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Anguilliform larvae collected off North Carolina

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Abstract

The distinctive larval stage of eels (leptocephalus) facilitates dispersal through prolonged life in the open ocean. Leptocephali are abundant and diverse off North Carolina, yet data on distributions and biology are lacking. The water column (from surface to 1,293 m) was sampled in or near the Gulf Stream off Cape Hatteras, Cape Lookout, and Cape Fear, North Carolina during summer through fall of 1999–2005, and leptocephali were collected by neuston net, plankton net, Tucker trawl, and dip net. Additional samples were collected nearly monthly from a transect across southern Onslow Bay, North Carolina (from surface to 91 m) from April 2000 to December 2001 by bongo and neuston nets, Methot frame trawl, and Tucker trawl. Overall, 584 tows were completed, and 224 of these yielded larval eels. The 1,295 eel leptocephali collected (combining all methods and areas) represented at least 63 species (nine families). Thirteen species were not known previously from the area. Dominant families for all areas were Congridae (44% of individuals, 11 species), Ophichthidae (30% of individuals, 27 species), and Muraenidae (22% of individuals, ten species). Nine taxa accounted for 70% of the overall leptocephalus catches (in order of decreasing abundance): Paraconger caudilimbatus (Poey), Gymnothorax ocellatus Agassiz complex, Ariosoma balearicum (Delaroche), Ophichthus gomesii (Castelnau), Callechelys muraena Jordan and Evermann, Letharchus aliculatus McCosker, Rhynchoconger flavus (Goode and Bean), Ophichthus cruentifer (Goode and Bean), Rhynchoconger gracilior (Ginsburg). The top three species represented 52% of the total eel larvae collected. Most leptocephali were collected at night (79%) and at depths > 45 m. Eighty percent of the eels collected in discrete depth Tucker trawls at night ranged from mean depths of 59–353 m. A substantial number (38% of discrete depth sample total) of larval eels were also collected at the surface (neuston net) at night. Daytime leptocephalus distributions were less clear partly due to low catches and lower Tucker trawl sampling effort. While net avoidance may account for some of the low daytime catches, an alternative explanation is that many species of larval eels occur during the day at depths > 350 m. Larvae of 21 taxa of typically shallow water eels were collected at depths > 350 m, but additional discrete depth diel sampling is needed to resolve leptocephalus vertical distributions. The North Carolina adult eel fauna (estuary to at least 2,000 m) consists of 51 species, 41% of which were represented in these collections. Many species of leptocephali collected are not yet known to have juveniles or adults established in the South Atlantic Bight or north of Cape Hatteras. Despite Gulf Stream transport and a prolonged larval stage, many of these eel leptocephali may not contribute to their respective populations.

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Acknowledgments

This research was partially funded by grants from the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration (grants NA16RP2696, NA030AR4600090, NA040AR4600056, NA05OAR4601065 to S.W. Ross, lead Principle Investigator). The 1999 and 2000 cruises were partially supported by the North Carolina Legislature (to S.W. Ross). The August 2001 RV Cape Hatteras mission was sponsored by the Duke/UNC Oceanographic Consortium (to S.W. Ross). We thank the UNC-Wilmington Coastal Ocean Research and Monitoring Program (funded by NOAA grants NA16RP1460 and NA96RU0259) for the 2000–2001 southern Onslow Bay study. United States Geological Survey (USGS), Florida Integrated Science Center (through K.J. Sulak) provided personnel and logistics support. Jennifer McClain provided valuable assistance in sorting leptocephali from numerous plankton samples. We thank David G. Smith (Smithsonian Inst.) for his generous donations of time to help identify several eel leptocephali. We thank Michael Fahay (NOAA Fisheries Service) for encouraging this study and providing us with a preliminary list of eel larvae collected in the Middle Atlantic Bight. We thank Jose Torres (Univ. of South Florida) for loan of Tucker trawls for the 1999 cruise.

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  1. Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 5600 Marvin K. Moss Lane, Wilmington, NC, 28409, USA

    Steve W. Ross, Tara L. Casazza & Andrea M. Quattrini

  2. Florida Integrated Science Center, Center for Aquatic Resource Studies, United States Geological Survey, 7920 Northwest 71st Street, Gainesville, FL, 32653, USA

    Steve W. Ross & Kenneth J. Sulak

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  1. Steve W. Ross
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Correspondence to Steve W. Ross.

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Communicated by J.P. Grassle, New Brunswick

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Ross, S.W., Casazza, T.L., Quattrini, A.M. et al. Anguilliform larvae collected off North Carolina. Mar Biol 150, 681–695 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-006-0388-z

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