A combination mode of climate variability responsible for extremely poor recruitment of the Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica)
Journal
Scientific Reports
Journal Volume
7
Date Issued
2017
Author(s)
Abstract
Satellite data and assimilation products are used to investigate fluctuations in the catch of Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) in eastern Asian countries. It has been reported that the salinity front has extended farther south, which has shifted the eel's spawning grounds to a lower latitude, resulting in smaller eel catches in 1983, 1992, and 1998. This study demonstrates that interannual variability in the eel catch is strongly correlated with the combination mode (C-mode), but not with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. These eels continue to spawn within the North Equatorial Current (NEC), but the salinity front shifts south during a canonical El Niño. On the other hand, the spawning grounds accompanied by the salinity front extend farther south during the C-mode of climate variability, and eel larvae fail to join the nursery in the NEC, resulting in extremely poor recruitment in East Asia. We propose an appropriate sea surface temperature index to project Japanese eel larval catch. © The Author(s) 2017.
SDGs
Other Subjects
Anguilla japonica; Asia; climate change; El Nino; larva; nonhuman; nursery; salinity; sea surface temperature; spawning; animal; aquaculture; climate; Far East; female; growth, development and aging; male; physiology; population dynamics; population migration; reproduction; salinity; statistical model; statistics and numerical data; temperature; water flow; Anguilla; Animal Migration; Animals; Aquaculture; Climate; Far East; Female; Larva; Male; Models, Statistical; Population Dynamics; Reproduction; Salinity; Temperature; Water Movements
Type
journal article