Spawning Migration of the European Eel

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

   PDF

2. Introduction

   1. How to Estimate the Reproductive Success of European Silver Eels

      • Guido van den Thillart, Sylvie Dufour

      Pages 3-9

3. Silvering

   1. Seasonal Evolution and Individual Differences in Silvering Eels from Different Locations

      • Caroline M. F. Durif, Vincent van Ginneken, Sylvie Dufour, Tamás Müller, Pierre Elie

      Pages 13-38

   2. Silvering: Metamorphosis or Puberty?

      • Karine Rousseau, Salima Aroua, Monika Schmitz, Pierre Elie, Sylvie Dufour

      Pages 39-63

   3. Silver Eel Migration and Behaviour

      • Maarten C. M. Bruijs, Caroline M. F. Durif

      Pages 65-95

4. Performance

   1. High Pressure Resistance and Adaptation of European Eels

      • Philippe Sébert, Aurélie Vettier, Aline Amérand, Christine Moisan

      Pages 99-127

   2. Acclimation to Seawater in the European Eel Anguilla anguilla: Effects of Silvering

      • J. Cliff Rankin

      Pages 129-145

   3. Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP), a New Endocrine Factor Involved in the Complex Multi-hormonal Control of the Gill Osmoregulation: Evidence from Studies in the European Eel, Anguilla anguilla

      • Anne-Gaëlle Lafont, Sylvie Dufour, Martine Fouchereau-Peron

      Pages 147-178

   4. Energy Requirements of European Eel for Trans Atlantic Spawning Migration

      • G. van den Thillart, A. Palstra, V. van Ginneken

      Pages 179-199

   5. Impact of the Swim-Bladder Parasite on the Health and Performance of European Eels

      • Csaba Székely, Arjan Palstra, Kálmán Molnár, Guido van den Thillart

      Pages 201-226

5. Maturation and Reproduction

   1. Effects of Swimming on Silvering and Maturation of the European Eel, Anguilla anguilla L.

      • Arjan Palstra, Vincent van Ginneken, Guido van den Thillart

      Pages 229-251

   2. The Gonadoliberin(S)-Gonadotropin(S) Axis in the Eel: Expression and Regulation Under Induced Maturation and Sex Steroid Feedbacks

      • Salima Aroua, Karine Rousseau, Monika Schmitz, Ching-Fong Chang, Sylvie Dufour

      Pages 253-278

   3. Dopamine Inhibition of Eel Reproduction

      • Finn-Arne Weltzien, Marie-Emilie Sébert, Bernadette Vidal, Catherine Pasqualini, Sylvie Dufour

      Pages 279-307

   4. Artificial Maturation and Reproduction of the European Eel

      • Arjan Palstra, Guido van den Thillart

      Pages 309-331

   5. Testis Development, Sperm Quality Evaluation and Cryopreservation in the European Eel

      • Luz Pérez, David Peñaranda, Víctor Gallego, Juan Asturiano

      Pages 333-362

6. Environmental Effects

   1. The Effect of PCBs on the Spawning Migration of European Silver Eel (Anguilla anguilla L.)

      • Vincent van Ginneken, Maarten Bruijs, Tinka Murk, Arjan Palstra, Guido van den Thillart

      Pages 365-386

   2. Impact of Eel Viruses on Recruitment of European Eel

      • Olga Haenen, Vincent van Ginneken, Marc Engelsma, Guido van den Thillart

      Pages 387-400

   3. Evolutionary Consequences of Eel Migration

      • Gregory Maes, Marti Pujolar, Filip Volckaert

      Pages 401-432

   4. Proximate and Ultimate Control of Eel Continental Dispersal

      • Eric Edeline, Sylvie Dufour, Pierre Elie

      Pages 433-461

7. Synthesis

   1. Reproduction Capacity of European Eels

      • Sylvie Dufour, Guido van den Thillart

      Pages 465-473

Freshwater eels are almost infinitely improbable creatures. They spawn and die in the middle of the ocean, often associated with undersea mountains. Their tra- parent, leaf-like larvae move with ocean currents for months or years until they approach the mouths of freshwater rivers. Then they undergo a dramatic transf- mation in morphology, physiology and behavior. They move from their planktonic oceanic environment, migrate upstream and live for several years as apex fre- water predators. Then, almost impossibly, as they become sexually mature, they reverse their migration downstream to the ocean and back to spawning grounds to complete their life cycle. The dramatic changes in their life cycles are incredible. The efforts to unravel the details of their life history have been truly daunting. Much of the past research was the work of dedicated individuals who devoted their lifetime research to these fishes. Freshwater eels merit a separate chapter in almost any textbook dealing with ichthyology, marine biology or animal migration. We know a great deal about some aspects of the biology of freshwater eels. However, our understanding of their bi- ogy still resembles a work of art as much as a work of science. To some it appears like the sweeping brush strokes of a Japanese Zen landscape, to others it resembles the work of a French impressionist, and to still others it appears as magic realism.

• Aquaculture
• Ecology
• European Eel
• Osmoregulation
• Reproduction
• environment
• fisheries
• physiology
• Fish and Wildlife Biology

• Institute of Biology, Leiden University, RA Leiden, The Netherlands

  Guido Thillart

• UMR CNRS 5178 “Biology of Marine Organisms and Ecosystems” 7 rue Cuvier, CP 32, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle DMPA, 75231 Paris cedex 05, France

  Sylvie Dufour

• Department of Chemical and Biological Science, University of Huddersfield Queensgate, UK

  J. Cliff Rankin

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