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The effects of contaminants in European eel: a review

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Abstract

European eel (Anguilla anguilla (L.)) stocks are in decline in most of their geographical distribution and their status is considered below safe biological limits. Recently, there is an increasing awareness that spawner quality might be an essential element in the decline of the species since pollution by bioaccumulating chemical substances may have a large impact on the reproduction success of the eel. This review gives an overview of the literature on the effects of contaminants on the European eel and on the consequences on the biology and fitness of the eel in order to document the role of pollution in its decline. A variety of contaminants have been found to affect the eel. These contaminants may cause disturbance of the immune system, the reproduction system, the nervous system and the endocrine system and effects were reported on several levels of biological organization, from subcellular, organ, individual up to even population level. More extensive research is needed in order to evaluate how pollutants are detrimental to eel populations. Getting a comprehensive overview of the quality (including contamination levels, biomarker responses, lipid content and condition) of the silver eel population all over Europe seems to be an essential and urgent objective for the European eel management.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Flemish Environment Agency and the authors gratefully acknowledge the support of B. Peeters, L. Bervoets, G. Maes and K. Vlietinck. They also want to thank F. Ollevier, F. Volckaert and G. van den Thillart for their comments on the manuscript. We are grateful to I. Lambeens and L. Galle for her assistance with the draft of the tables. We also would like to thank M. Hoffman and three anonymous reviewers for reviewing and providing constructive comments.

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  1. Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Duboislaan 14, 1560, Groenendaal-Hoeilaart, Belgium

    Caroline Geeraerts & Claude Belpaire

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  1. Caroline Geeraerts
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  2. Claude Belpaire
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Correspondence to Caroline Geeraerts.

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Geeraerts, C., Belpaire, C. The effects of contaminants in European eel: a review. Ecotoxicology 19, 239–266 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-009-0424-0

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