Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Migration and habitat use of the tropical eels Anguilla marmorata and A. bicolor pacifica in Vietnam

  • Published:
Aquatic Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The patterns of use of marine and freshwater habitats by the tropical anguillid eels Anguilla marmorata and A. bicolor pacifica were examined by analysing the otolith strontium (Sr) and calcium (Ca) concentrations of yellow (immature) and silver (mature) stage eels collected in Vietnamese waters. In A. marmorata, the change in the Sr:Ca ratios outside the high Sr:Ca core was generally divided into three patterns: (1) typical catadromous life history pattern; (2) constant residence in brackish water; and (3) habitat shifting between sea and brackish waters with no freshwater life. In A. bicolor pacifica, no eels had a general life history as freshwater residents. The eels were also divided into three patterns: (1) constant residence in sea water; (2) constantly living in brackish water; and (3) habitat shifting from brackish to sea water with no freshwater residence. The mean Sr:Ca ratio value after recruitment to coastal waters ranged from 1.73 to 5.67 × 10−3 (mean 3.2 × 10−3) in A. marmorata and from 2.53 to 6.32 × 10−3 (mean 4.3 × 10−3) in A. bicolor pacifica. The wide range of otolith Sr:Ca ratios in both species indicated that the habitat use of these tropical eels was facultative among fresh, brackish, and marine waters during their growth phases after recruitment to coastal areas. Tropical eel species may have the same behavioural plasticity as temperate anguillid species regarding whether to enter freshwater or to remain in estuarine and marine environments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arai T, Aoyama J, Daniel L, Tsukamoto K (1999) Species composition and inshore migration of the tropical eels, Anguilla spp., recruiting to the estuary of the Poigar River, Sulawesi Island. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 188:299–303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arai T, Limbong D, Otake T, Tsukamoto K (2001a) Recruitment mechanisms of tropical eels, Anguilla spp., and implications for the evolution of oceanic migration in the genus Anguilla. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 216:253–264

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Arai T, Aoyama J, Ishikawa S, Miller MJ, Otake T, Inagaki T, Tsukamoto K (2001b) Early life history of tropical Anguilla leptocephali in the western Pacific Ocean. Mar Biol 138:887–895

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arai T, Marui M, Miller MJ, Tsukamoto K (2002) Growth history and inshore migration of the tropical eel, Anguilla marmorata in the Pacific. Mar Biol 140:309–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arai T, Miller MJ, Tsukamoto K (2003a) Larval duration of the tropical eel, Anguilla celebesensis, from the Indonesian and Philippine coasts. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 251:255–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arai T, Kotake A, Ohji M, Miller MJ, Tsukamoto K, Miyazaki N (2003b) Occurrence of sea eels of Anguilla japonica along the Sanriku Coast of Japan. Ichthyol Res 50:78–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arai T, Kotake A, Lokman PM, Miller MJ, Tsukamoto K (2004) Evidence of different habitat use by New Zealand freshwater eels, Anguilla australis and A. dieffenbachii, as revealed by otolith microchemistry. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 266:213–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arai T, Kotake A, McCarthy TK (2006) Habitat use by the European eel Anguilla anguilla in Irish waters. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 67:569–578

  • Arai T, Chino N, Kotake A (2009) Occurrence of estuarine and sea eels Anguilla japonica and a migrating silver eel Anguilla anguilla in Tokyo Bay area, Japan. Fish Sci 75:1197–1203

    Google Scholar 

  • Briones AA, Yambot AV, Shiao JC, Iizuka Y, Tzeng WN (2007) Migratory pattern and habitat use of tropical eels Anguilla spp. (teleostei: Anguilliformes: Anguillidae) in the Philippines, as revealed by otolith microchemistry. Raffl Bull Zool 14:141–149

    Google Scholar 

  • Chino N, Arai T (2009) Relative contribution of migratory type on the reproduction of migrating silver eels, Anguilla japonica, collected off Shikoku Island, Japan. Mar Biol 156:661–668

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chino N, Arai T (2010a) Occurrence of marine resident tropical eel Anguilla bicolor bicolor in Indonesia. Mar Biol 157:1075–1081

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chino N, Arai T (2010b) Habitat use and habitat transitions in the tropical eel, Anguilla bicolor bicolor. Environ Biol Fish 89:571–578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chino N, Arai T (2010c) Migratory history of the giant mottled eel (Anguilla marmorata) in the Bonin Islands of Japan. Ecol Freshw Fish 19:19–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daverat F, Limberg KE, Thibault I, Shiao JC, Dodson JJ, Caron F, Tzeng WN, Iizuka Y, Wickström H (2006) Phenotypic plasticity of habitat use by three temperate eel species, Anguilla anguilla, A. japonica and A. rostrata. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 308:231–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross MR (1987) Evolution of diadromy in fishes. Amer Fish Soc Symp 1:12–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Gross MR, Coleman RM, McDowall RM (1988) Aquatic productivity and the evolution of diadromous fish migration. Science 239:1291–1293

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kotake A, Arai T, Ozawa T, Nojima S, Miller MJ, Tsukamoto K (2003) Variation in migratory history of Japanese eels, Anguilla japonica, collected in coastal waters of the Amakusa Islands, Japan, inferred from otolith Sr/Ca ratios. Mar Biol 142:849–854

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotake A, Okamura A, Yamada Y, Utoh T, Arai T, Miller MJ, Oka HP, Tsukamoto K (2005) Seasonal variation in migratory history of the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica, in Mikawa Bay, Japan. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 293:213–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamson HM, Shiao JC, Iizuka Y, Tzeng WN, Cairns DK (2006) Movement patterns of American eels (Anguilla rostrata) between salt and fresh water in a coastal watershed, based on otolith microchemistry. Mar Biol 149:1567–1576

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morrison WE, Secor DH, Piccoli PM (2003) Estuarine habitat use by Hudson River American eels as determined by otolith strontium:calcium ratios. In: Dixon DA (ed) Biology, management and protection of catadromous eels. Am Fish Soc Symp 33:87–99

  • Shiao JC, Iizuka Y, Chang CW, Tzeng WN (2003) Disparities in habitat use and migratory behaviour between tropical eel Anguilla marmorata and temperate eel A. japonica in four Taiwanese rivers. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 261:233–242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tesch FW (2003) The eel. Blackwell Science, Oxford

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tsukamoto K, Arai T (2001) Facultative catadromy of the eel, Anguilla japonica, between freshwater and seawater habitats. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 220:365–376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Utoh T, Mikawa N, Okamura A, Yamada Y, Tanaka S, Horie N, Akazawa A, Oka HP (2004) Ovarian morphology of the Japanese eel in Mikawa Bay. J Fish Biol 64:502–513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watanabe S, Aoyama J, Tsukamoto K (2009) A new species of freshwater eel Anguilla luzonensis (Teleostei: Anguillidae) from Luzon Island of the Philippines. Fish Sci 75:387–392

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by Grant-in-Aid No. 20688008 from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan and the JSPS Research Fellowships for Young Scientists to N Chino.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

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

    Takaomi Arai

  2. International Coastal Research Center, Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 2-106-1 Akahama, Otsuchi, Iwate, 028-1102, Japan

    Naoko Chino

  3. Institute of Marine Environment and Resources, 246 Danang, Haiphong, Vietnam

    Dung Quang Le

Authors
  1. Takaomi Arai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Naoko Chino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Dung Quang Le
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Takaomi Arai.

Additional information

Handling Editor: Thomas Mehner

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Arai, T., Chino, N. & Le, D.Q. Migration and habitat use of the tropical eels Anguilla marmorata and A. bicolor pacifica in Vietnam. Aquat Ecol 47, 57–65 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-012-9424-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-012-9424-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation