Eel migration to the Sargasso: remarkably high swimming efficiency and low energy costs

Author:

van Ginneken Vincent1,Antonissen Erik1,Müller Ulrike K.2,Booms Ronald3,Eding Ep3,Verreth Johan3,van den Thillart Guido1

Affiliation:

1. Institute of Evolutionary and Ecological Sciences, Integrative Zoology,Leiden University, POB 9516, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

2. Department of Experimental Zoology, Wageningen Agricultural University,Marijkeweg 40, 6709 PG Wageningen, The Netherlands

3. Department of Fishculture and Fisheries, Wageningen Agricultural University, Marijkeweg 40, 6709 PG Wageningen, The Netherlands

Abstract

SUMMARYOne of the mysteries of the animal kingdom is the long-distance migration(5000–6000 km) of the European eel Anguilla anguilla L. from the coasts of Europe to its spawning grounds in the Sargasso Sea. The only evidence for the location of the spawning site of the European eel in the Sargasso Sea is the discovery by Johannes Schmidt at the beginning of the previous century of the smallest eel larvae (leptocephali) near the Sargasso Sea. For years it has been questioned whether the fasting eels have sufficient energy reserves to cover this enormous distance. We have tested Schmidt's theory by placing eels in swim tunnels in the laboratory and allowing them to make a simulated migration of 5500 km. We find that eels swim 4–6 times more efficiently than non-eel-like fish. Our findings are an important advance in this field because they remove a central objection to Schmidt's theory by showing that their energy reserves are, in principle, sufficient for the migration. Conclusive proof of the Sargasso Sea theory is likely to come from satellite tracking technology.

Publisher

The Company of Biologists

Subject

Insect Science,Molecular Biology,Animal Science and Zoology,Aquatic Science,Physiology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Reference49 articles.

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3. Avise, J. C., Nelson, W. S., Arnold, J., Koehn, R. K., Williams,G. C. and Thorsteinsson, V. (1990). The evolutionary genetic status of Icelandic eels. Evolution44,1254-1262.

4. Bast, H. D. and Klinkhardt, M. B. (1988). Catch of a silver eel (Anguilla anguilla (L., 1758)) in the Iberian Basin(Northeast Atlantic) (Teleostei: Anguillidae). Zool. Anz.221,386-398.

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