Qualitative assessment of the diet of European eel larvae in the Sargasso Sea resolved by DNA barcoding

Author:

Riemann Lasse1,Alfredsson Hanna1,Hansen Michael M.2,Als Thomas D.3,Nielsen Torkel G.4,Munk Peter5,Aarestrup Kim3,Maes Gregory E.6,Sparholt Henrik7,Petersen Michael I.3,Bachler Mirjam8,Castonguay Martin9

Affiliation:

1. School of Natural Sciences, Linnaeus University, 39182 Kalmar, Sweden

2. Department of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark

3. National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, 8600 Silkeborg, Denmark

4. Department of Marine Ecology, National Environmental Research Institute, Aarhus University, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark

5. National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, Charlottenlund Castle, 2920 Charlottenlund, Denmark

6. Laboratory of Animal Diversity and Systematics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

7. International Council for Exploration of the Sea, 1553 Copenhagen, Denmark

8. OE Clinical Trial Center, Innsbruck Medical University, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria

9. Institut Maurice-Lamontagne, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, PO Box 1000 Mont-Joli, Québec, Canada G5H 3Z4

Abstract

European eels ( Anguilla anguilla ) undertake spawning migrations of more than 5000 km from continental Europe and North Africa to frontal zones in the Sargasso Sea. Subsequently, the larval offspring are advected by large-scale eastward ocean currents towards continental waters. However, the Sargasso Sea is oligotrophic, with generally low plankton biomass, and the feeding biology of eel larvae has so far remained a mystery, hampering understanding of this peculiar life history. DNA barcoding of gut contents of 61 genetically identified A. anguilla larvae caught in the Sargasso Sea showed that even the smallest larvae feed on a striking variety of plankton organisms, and that gelatinous zooplankton is of fundamental dietary importance. Hence, the specific plankton composition seems essential for eel larval feeding and growth, suggesting a linkage between eel survival and regional plankton productivity. These novel insights into the prey of Atlantic eels may furthermore facilitate eel larval rearing in aquaculture, which ultimately may replace the unsustainable use of wild-caught glass eels.

Publisher

The Royal Society

Subject

General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)

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