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Variation of life traits of glass eels of Anguilla anguilla (L.) during the colonization of Ríos Nalón and Minho estuaries (northwestern Iberian Peninsula)

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Abstract

Analyses of the pigmentation stages and the size of glass eels during the arrival period to two northwestern Iberian estuaries (Ríos Nalón and Minho) and comparison of the patterns elucidated in this study with those reported for other geographical locations of the Atlantic and Mediterranean ranges showed nine pigmentation stages ranging from practically transparent to fully pigmented in the two-first locations. Overall, stage VB was predominant but within a broad variance across rivers and seasons. Consistent with previous studies, pigmentation stages tended to increase when the season progressed whilst, for a given individual length, mass tended to be higher during the early months of arrival. Moreover, both mass and condition factor were lower in individuals of advanced stages. Whilst we found no significant differences on glass eels length among pigmentation stages, both mass and condition factor were lower in more pigmented individuals. Given that larger glass eels with better physical condition may reveal greater energy content implying improved upstream migration earlier individuals may be better migrants than latter individuals.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to the fishermen of the two rivers and very especially to Pepín “El Ruleru” and Ester Diaz (staff of the Río Nalón Fishermen Association) and to Alfredo Oliveira and Eduardo Martins (members of the Río Minho fishery crew) for their continuous help during glass eels collection. Brian Knights gave valuable comments on an earlier draft and Maite Lavandeira made her best to improve the English. During this study T. Iglesias was funded by the INDICANG Project of the INTERREG IIB—EU Program whereas S. Costa Dias was funded by the Portuguese FCT through the grant Ref. No. SFRH/BD/16922/2004.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Biología. Dept. B. O. S. (Zoología), Universidad de Oviedo, C/Catedrático Rodrigo Uría, s/n, 33071, Oviedo, Spain

    Tania Iglesias

  2. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), C/José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Tania Iglesias, Javier Lobón-Cerviá & Sérgia Costa Dias

  3. CIMAR/CIIMAR—Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental. Universidade do Porto, Rua dos Bragas, 289, 4050-123, Porto, Portugal

    Sérgia Costa Dias & Carlos Antunes

  4. ICBAS—Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar/Universidadedo Porto, Lg. Prof. Abel Salazar 2, 4099-003, Porto, Portugal

    Sérgia Costa Dias

Authors
  1. Tania Iglesias
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  2. Javier Lobón-Cerviá
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  3. Sérgia Costa Dias
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  4. Carlos Antunes
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Correspondence to Tania Iglesias.

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Handling editor: M. Power

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Iglesias, T., Lobón-Cerviá, J., Dias, S.C. et al. Variation of life traits of glass eels of Anguilla anguilla (L.) during the colonization of Ríos Nalón and Minho estuaries (northwestern Iberian Peninsula). Hydrobiologia 651, 213–223 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0300-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0300-1

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