Tracking the marine migration routes of South Pacific silver eels

Chang, YLK, Dall’Olmo, G and Schabetsberger, R 2020 Tracking the marine migration routes of South Pacific silver eels. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13398

[img]
Preview
Text
Chang_etal_2020.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial.

Download (6MB) | Preview
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps13398

Abstract/Summary

It is still a mystery how catadromous eels find their way through the seemingly featureless open ocean to their spawning areas. Three catadromous Pacific eels (2 Anguilla marmorata, 1 A. megastoma) from the Archipelago of Vanuatu were tagged with pop-up satellite archival transmitters, and their migration tracks towards their presumed spawning area approximately 870 km northeast of the point of release were reconstructed in order to evaluate their movements in relation to oceanographic conditions. We used the timing of diel vertical migrations to derive the eels’ positions. The 2 A. marmorata exhibited steep-angled turns resulting in a zig-zag migration path along the east−west axis, while the A. megastoma took a relatively straight course towards the presumed spawning area. They migrated with a speed over ground of 21−23 km d−1. In this region, the eastward flow of the South Equatorial Counter Current (SECC, ~5°−10°S) separates the westward flowing South Equatorial Current (SEC; ~0°−5°S and 10°−18°S) into 2 branches. During shallower nighttime migration depths around 150 m, eels crossed a variable flow field through the southern branch of the westward SEC with westward propagating mesoscale eddies and the eastward SECC, but stayed south of the stronger northern branch of the SEC, possibly increasing retention time of larvae within this area. The eels headed towards a tongue of high-salinity Subtropical Underwater (STUW). The eels did not move beyond a salinity front of 35.9−36.0 at a depth of 100−200 m, which may have provided cues for orientation towards the spawning area.

Item Type: Publication - Article
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.: *Corresponding author: robert.schabetsberger@sbg.ac.at
Additional Keywords: Anguilla · Migration routes · Diel vertical migration · Satellite telemetry · Spawning
Divisions: Plymouth Marine Laboratory > Science Areas > Earth Observation Science and Applications
Depositing User: S Hawkins
Date made live: 30 Jul 2020 08:08
Last Modified: 30 Jul 2020 08:08
URI: https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/9017

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item