Distribution of anguillid leptocephali and possible spawning areas in the South Pacific Ocean
Journal
Progress in Oceanography
Journal Volume
180
Date Issued
2020
Author(s)
Kuroki, Mari
Miller, Michael J.
Feunteun, Eric
Sasal, Pierre
Pikering, Timothy
Faliex, Elisabeth
Acou, Anthony
Dessier, Aurélie
Schabetsberger, Robert
Watanabe, Shun
Kawakami, Tatsuya
Onda, Hiroaki
Higuchi, Takatoshi
Takeuchi, Aya
Shimizu, Madoka
Hewavitharane, Chinthaka A.
Hagihara, Seishi
Taka, Terumasa
Kimura, Shingo
Mochioka, Noritaka
Otake, Tsuguo
Tsukamoto, Katsumi
Abstract
Seven South Pacific anguillid eel species live from New Guinea to French Polynesia, but their spawning areas and life histories are mostly unknown despite previous sampling surveys. A July–October 2016 research cruise was conducted to study the spawning areas and times, and larval distributions of South Pacific anguillid eels, which included a short 155°E station-line northeast of New Guinea and five long transects (5–25°S, 160°E–140°W) crossing the South Equatorial (SEC) and other currents. This survey collected nearly 4000 anguilliform leptocephali at 179 stations using an Isaacs-Kidd Midwater Trawl accompanied by 104 CTD casts. Based on morphometric observations and DNA sequencing, 74 anguillid leptocephali were collected, which in the southern areas included 29 larvae of six species: Anguilla bicolor pacifica, A. marmorata, A. australis, A. reinhardtii, A. megastoma, and A. obscura (all anguillid species of the region were caught except A. dieffenbachii). Small A. australis (9.0–16.8 mm) and A. reinhardtii (12.4, 12.5 mm) leptocephali were collected south of the Solomon Islands, other A. australis (10.8–12.0 mm) larvae were caught northwest of Fiji along with an A. obscura (20.0 mm) larva, and an A. marmorata (7.8 mm) larva was collected near Samoa. Considering collection sites, larval ages from otolith analysis, and westward SEC drift, multiple spawning locations occurred from south of the Solomon Islands and the Fiji area (16–20 days old larvae) to near Samoa (19 days old larva) during June and July in areas where high-salinity Subtropical Underwater (STUW, ~150 m depth) and the warm, low-salinity surface Fresh Pool were present. Five long hydrographic sections showed the strong Fresh Pool in the west and the STUW formation area in the east. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
Subjects
Early life history; Freshwater eels; migration; Otolith; South Pacific; Spawning
Other Subjects
DNA sequences; Fisheries; Gene encoding; Early life; migration; Otolith; South Pacific; Spawning; Surveys; eel; freshwater ecosystem; life history; morphometry; otolith; population migration; spatial distribution; spawning ground; spawning population; Fiji; French Polynesia; New Guinea; Pacific Ocean; Pacific Ocean (South); Samoa; Solomon Islands [(ISG) Melanesia]; Solomon Islands [Solomon Islands (ISG)]; Anguilla bicolor pacifica; Anguillidae; Anguilliformes
Type
journal article