Anguilla anguilla; silver eel; downstream migration; telemetry; River Meuse Basin
Research Center/Unit :
AFFISH-RC - Applied and Fundamental FISH Research Center - ULiège
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Verbiest, Hilde; Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Hoeilaart, Belgium
Breukelaar, André; Rijkswaterstaat Waterdienst, Lelystad, The Netherlands
Ovidio, Michaël ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Biologie, Ecologie, Evolution. > Laboratoire de Démographie des Poissons et d'Hydroécologie (LDPH)
Philippart, Jean-Claude ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences et gestion de l'environnement > Biologie du comportement - Ethologie et psychologie animale
Belpaire, Claude; Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Hoeilaart, Belgium
Language :
English
Title :
Escapement success and patterns of downstream migration of female silver eel Anguilla anguilla in the River Meuse
Publication date :
July 2012
Journal title :
Ecology of Freshwater Fish
ISSN :
0906-6691
eISSN :
1600-0633
Publisher :
Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, United Kingdom
Volume :
21
Pages :
395-403
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Commentary :
Downstream migration of female silver eel Anguilla anguilla (L.) was studied by remote telemetry in the lower part of the River Meuse (Belgium and the Netherlands) using a combination of nine detection stations and manual tracking. N = 31 eels (LT 64–90 cm) were implanted with active transponders and released in 2007 into the River Berwijn, a small Belgian tributary of the River Meuse, 326 km from the North Sea. From August 2007 till April 2008, 13 eels (42%) started their downstream migration and were detected at two or more stations. Mean migration speed was 0.62 mÆs)1 (or 53 kmÆday)1). Only two eels (15%) arrived at the North Sea, the others being held up or killed at hydroelectric power stations, caught by fishermen or by predators or stopped their migration and settled in the river delta. A majority (58%) of the eels classified as potential migrants did not start their migration
and settled in the River Berwijn or upper Meuse as verified by additional manual tracking.
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