Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T06:56:33.280Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Collection of spawning-condition eels of Ariosoma meeki in the Kuroshio Current in the East China Sea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2016

Shun Watanabe ,
Seishi Hagihara ,
Michael J. Miller ,
Masamichi Machida ,
Kosei Komatsu ,
Shuhei Nishida  and
Katsumi Tsukamoto
Shun Watanabe*
Affiliation:
College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, 1866 Kameino, Fujisawa-shi, Kanagawa 252-0880, Japan
Seishi Hagihara
Affiliation:
Division of Marine Biosciences, Graduate School of Fisheries Science, Hokkaido University, 3-1-1 Minato-cho, Hakodate, Hokkaido 041-8611, Japan
Michael J. Miller
Affiliation:
College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, 1866 Kameino, Fujisawa-shi, Kanagawa 252-0880, Japan
Masamichi Machida
Affiliation:
Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8564, Japan
Kosei Komatsu
Affiliation:
Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8564, Japan
Shuhei Nishida
Affiliation:
Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8564, Japan
Katsumi Tsukamoto
Affiliation:
College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, 1866 Kameino, Fujisawa-shi, Kanagawa 252-0880, Japan
*
Correspondence should be addressed to:S. Watanabe, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, 1866 Kameino, Fujisawa-shi, Kanagawa 252-0880, Japan email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

When and where marine eels spawn is poorly known even though species such as those of the family Congridae, Muraenidae and Ophichthidae can be caught in continental shelf habitats. The congrid genus Ariosoma includes small continental shelf eel species whose life histories are not yet known. Mature male and female eels of Ariosoma meeki were observed and captured on 17 August 2009 at the surface at night in the western side of the Kuroshio Current in the East China Sea close to new moon, while they were swimming slowly at the surface and exhibiting apparent reproduction-related behaviour. One male and one sex-unidentified eel (seemingly a male based on body shape) were observed to be chasing one larger female with their heads located near her urogenital pore area. The gonads of the female (540 mm) and the male (410 mm) that were caught by a long-handled dip net were in reproductive condition, because some eggs or seminal fluid were released during handling of the two specimens and high gonad-somatic index (GSI) values of 53 in the female and 20 in the male were recorded. This is one of the few cases in which fully ripe reproductive-condition marine eels have been observed or collected and it provides rare information about the spawning location and timing of this eel species.

Keywords

AnguilliformesCongridaespawning ecologygonadosomatic indexhistological observation
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 96 , Issue 8 , December 2016 , pp. 1701 - 1707
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Andres, M., Wimbush, M., Park, J.-H., Chang, K.-I., Lim, B.-H., Watts, D.R., Ichikawa, H. and Teague, W.J. (2008) Observations of Kuroshio flow variations in the East China Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research 113, C05013.Google Scholar
Aoyama, J., Watanabe, S., Miller, M.J., Mochioka, N., Otake, T., Yoshinaga, T. and Tsukamoto, K. (2014) Spawning sites of the Japanese eel in relation to oceanographic structure and the West Mariana Ridge. PLoS ONE 9, e88759.Google Scholar
Boëtius, I. and Boëtius, J. (1980) Experimental maturation of female silver eels, Anguilla anguilla: estimates of fecundity and energy reserves for migration and spawning. Dana 1, 1–28.Google Scholar
Böhlke, E.B. (ed) (1989) Fishes of the Western North Atlantic. Part 9, Volume 1. New Haven, CT: Sears Foundation for Marine Research.Google Scholar
Casadevall, M., Munoz, M., Carrasson, M. and Matallanas, J. (2001) The reproductive cycle of Ophichthus rufus (Anguilliformes) in the northwest Mediterranean. Cybium 25, 53–65.Google Scholar
Cau, A. and Maconi, P. (1984) Relationship of feeding, reproductive cycle and bathymetric distribution in Conger conger . Marine Biology 81, 147–151.Google Scholar
Chow, S., Kurogi, H., Mochioka, N., Kaji, S., Okazaki, M. and Tsukamoto, K. (2009) Discovery of mature freshwater eels in the open ocean. Fisheries Science 75, 257–259.Google Scholar
Cohen, D. M. and Dean, D. (1970) Sexual maturity and migratory behaviour of the tropical eel, Ahlia egmontis . Nature 227, 189–190.Google Scholar
Corrreia, A.T., Manso, S. and Cimbra, J. (2009) Age, growth and reproductive biology of the European conger eel (Conger conger) from the Atlantic Iberian waters. Fisheries Research 99, 196–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferraris, C. J. (1985) Redescription and spawning behavior of the muraenid eel Gymnothorax herrei . Copeia 1985, 518–520.Google Scholar
Figueroa, D.E., Gustavo, M. and Haimovici, M. (2010) News about the reproductive ecology of the southern conger eel Conger orbignianus . Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 90, 461–465.Google Scholar
Fishelson, L. (1992) Comparative gonad morphology and sexuality of the Muraenidae (Pisces, Teleostei). Copeia 1992, 197–209.Google Scholar
Fishelson, L. (1994) Comparative internal morphology of deep-sea eels, with particular emphasis on gonads and gut structure. Journal of Fish Biology 44, 75–101.Google Scholar
Fricke, H.W. (1970) Ökologische und verhalten-biologische Beobachtungen an den Rohrenaden Gorgasia sillneri und Taenioconger hassi (Pisces, Apodes, Heterocongridae). Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie 27, 1076–1099. [In German]Google Scholar
Haedrich, R.L. and Merrett, N.G. (1988) Summary atlas of deep-living demersal fishes in the North Atlantic Basin. Journal of Natural History 22, 1325–1362.Google Scholar
Hood, P.B., Able, K.W. and Grimes, C.B. (1988) Biology of the conger eel Conger oceanicus in the mid-Atlantic Bight. I. Distribution, age, growth and reproduction. Marine Biology 98, 587–596.Google Scholar
Horie, N., Utoh, T., Yamada, Y., Okamura, A., Zhang, H., Mikawa, N., Tanaka, S. and Oka, H.P. (2001) Artificial induction of ovarian maturation and ovulation in the common Japanese conger Conger myriaster . Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi 67, 842–849.Google Scholar
Horie, N., Utoh, T., Yamada, Y., Okamura, A., Zhang, H., Mikawa, N., Akazawa, A., Tanaka, S. and Poka, H. (2002) Development of embryos and larvae in the common Japanese conger Conger myriaster . Fisheries Science 68, 972–983.Google Scholar
Ishii, S., Yoshiura, Y., Kajimura, S., Mochioka, N. and Aida, K. (2003) Gonadal development and expression profiles of gonadotropin genes in wild sea conger Ariosoma meeki. Fish Physiology and Biochemistry 28, 95–96.Google Scholar
Kakizaki, T., Kobayashi, K., Nakatsubo, T., Wakiya, R., Watanabe, S., Miller, M.J. and Tsukamoto, K. (2015) Spawning behavior of garden eels, Gorgasia preclara and Heteroconger hassi (Heterocongrinae), observed in captivity. Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology 48, 359–373.Google Scholar
Kawai, T., Imamura, H., Ishito, Y. and Nakaya, K. (2002) Records of a conger eel, Ariosoma meeki (Anguiliformes) and a berycid Beryx decadactylus (Beryciformes), from the Pacific Coast of Aomori Prefecture, Northern Japan. Bulletin of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University 53, 83–86. [In Japanese with an English abstract].Google Scholar
Kurogi, H., Mochioka, N., Okazaki, M., Takahashi, M., Miller, M.J., Tsukamoto, K., Ambe, D., Katayama, S. and Chow, S. (2012) Discovery of a spawning area of the common Japanese conger Conger myriaster along the Kyushu-Palau Ridge in the western North Pacific. Fisheries Science 78, 525–532.Google Scholar
Lee, T.W., Miller, M.J., Hwang, H.B., Wouthuyzen, S. and Tsukamoto, K. (2008) Distribution and early life history of Kaupichthys leptocephali (family Chlopsidae) in the central Indonesian Seas. Marine Biology 153, 285–295.Google Scholar
McCleave, J.D. and Miller, M.J. (1994) Spawning of Conger oceanicus and Conger triporiceps (Congridae) in the Sargasso Sea and subsequent distribution of leptocephali. Environmental Biology of Fishes 39, 339–355.Google Scholar
Miller, M.J. (2002) The distribution and ecology of Ariosoma balearicum (Congridae) leptocephali in the western North Atlantic. Environmental Biology of Fishes 63, 235–252.Google Scholar
Miller, M.J. (2009) Ecology of anguilliform leptocephali: remarkable transparent fish larvae of the ocean surface layer. Aqua-BioSci Monographs 2, 1–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, M.J., Otake, T., Minagawa, G., Inagaki, T. and Tsukamoto, K. (2002) Distribution of leptocephali in the Kuroshio Current and East China Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 235, 279–288.Google Scholar
Miller, M.J., Yamaguchi, M., Wouthuyzen, S., Aoyama, J., Suharti, S., Ma, T., Yoshinaga, T., Minegishi, Y., Kawakami, T. and Tsukamoto, K. (2013) Ariosoma-type leptocephali (Congridae: Bathymyrinae) in the Mentawai Islands region off western Sumatra, Indonesia. Zoological Studies 52, 26.Google Scholar
Miller, M.J., Yoshinaga, T., Aoyama, J., Otake, T., Mochioka, N., Kurogi, H., Tsukamoto, K. (2011) Offshore spawning of Conger myriaster in the western North Pacific: evidence of convergent migration strategies of anguilliform eels in the Atlantic and Pacific. Naturwissenshaften 98, 537–543.Google Scholar
Minagawa, G., Miller, M.J., Kimura, Y., Watanabe, S., Shinoda, A., Aoyama, J., Inagaki, T. and Tsukamoto, K. (2007) Seasonal differences in catches of leptocephali in the East China Sea and Suruga Bay, Japan. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 71, 730–740.Google Scholar
Moyer, J.T. and Zaiser, M.J. (1982) Reproductive behavior of moray eels at Miyade-jima, Japan. Journal of Ichthyology 28, 466–468.Google Scholar
Nakabo, T. (Ed.) (2002) Fishes of Japan with pictorial keys to the species. English edition. Tokai University Press. 2nd edition. Volume. 1, i-lxi plus pp. 1–866.Google Scholar
Okamura, A., Utoh, T., Zhang, H., Yamada, Y., Horie, N., Mikawa, N., Tanaka, S., Motonobu, T. and Oka, H.P. (2000) Seasonal changes in maturity in the conger eel Conger myriaster at the Pacific coast of Atsumi peninsula, central Japan. Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi 66, 412–416.Google Scholar
Okamura, A., Yamada, Y., Yokouchi, K., Horie, N., Mikawa, N., Utoh, T., Tanaka, S. and Tsukamoto, K. (2007) A silvering index for the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica . Environmental Biology of Fishes 80, 77–89.Google Scholar
O'Sullivan, S., Moriarty, C., FitzGerald, R.D., Davenport, J. and Mulcahy, M.E. (2003) Age, growth and reproductive status of the European conger eel, Conger conger (L.) in Irish coastal waters. Fisheries Research 64, 55–69.Google Scholar
Porcu, C., Follesa, M.C., Gastoni, A., Mulas, A., Pedoni, C. and Cau, A. (2013) The reproductive cycle of a deep-sea eel, Nettastoma melanurum (Nettastomatidae: Anguilliformes) from the south-eastern Sardinian Sea (central-western Mediterranean). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 93, 1105–1115.Google Scholar
Ross, S.W. and Rohde, F.C. (2003) Collections of ophichthid eels on the surface at night off North Carolina. Bulletin of Marine Science 72, 241–246.Google Scholar
Sbaihi, M., Fouchereau-Peron, M., Meunier, F., Elie, P., Mayer, I., Burzawa-Gerard, E., Vidal, B. and Dufour, S. (2001) Reproductive biology of conger eel from the south coast of Brittany, France and comparison with the European eel. Journal of Fish Biology 59, 302–318.Google Scholar
Schneider, C.A., Rasband, W.S. and Eliceiri, K.W. (2012) NIH Image to ImageJ: 25 years of image analysis. Nature Methods 9, 671–675.Google Scholar
Shen, S.-C. (1998) A review of congrid eels of the genus Ariosoma from Taiwan, with description of a new species. Zoological Studies 37, 7–12.Google Scholar
Smith, D.G. (1989) Family Congridae: Leptocephali. In Böhlke, E.B. (ed.) Fishes of the Western North Atlantic. New Haven, CT: Memoir Sears Foundation for Marine Research, I, Part 9, Volume 2, pp. 723–763.Google Scholar
Shriver, J.F., Hurlburt, H.E., Smedstad, O.M., Wallcraft, A.J. and Rhodes, R.C. (2007) 1/32° real-time global ocean prediction and value-added of 1/16° resolution. Journal of Marine Systems 65, 3–26.Google Scholar
Takemura, A., Rahman, M.S., Nakamura, S., Park, Y.J. and Takano, K. (2004) Lunar cycles and reproductive activity in reef fishes with particular attention to rabbitfishes. Fish and Fisheries 5, 317–328.Google Scholar
Takai, T. (1959) Studies on the morphology, ecology and culture of the important apodal fishes, Muraenesox cinereus (Folskal) and Conger myriaster (Brevoort). Journal of the Shimonoseki College of Fisheries 8, 209–555. [In Japanese].Google Scholar
Takai, T. (1979) Review: reproduction of the pike eel in the Seto Inland Water. Saibaigiken 8, 77–82. [In Japanese].Google Scholar
Thresher, R.E. (1984) Reproduction in reef fishes. Neptune City, NJ: Tropical Fish Hobbyist Publications.Google Scholar
Tsukamoto, K. (2009) Oceanic migration and spawning of anguillid eels. Journal of Fish Biology 74, 1833–1852.Google Scholar
Tsukamoto, K., Chow, S., Otake, T., Kurogi, H., Mochioka, N., Miller, M.J., Aoyama, J., Kimura, S., Watanabe, S., Yoshinaga, T., Shinoda, A., Kuroki, M., Oya, M., Watanabe, T., Hata, K., Ijiri, S., Kazeto, Y., Nomura, K. and Tanaka, H. (2011) Oceanic spawning ecology of freshwater eels in the western North Pacific. Nature Communications 2, 179.Google Scholar
Tsukamoto, K., Otake, T., Mochioka, N., Lee, T.W., Fricke, H., Inagaki, T., Aoyama, J., Ishikawa, S., Kimura, S., Miller, M.J., Hasumoto, H., Oya, M. and Suzuki, Y. (2003) Seamounts, new moon and eel spawning: the search for the spawning site of the Japanese eel. Environmental Biology of Fishes 66, 221–229.Google Scholar
van Ginneken, V., Vianen, G., Muusze, B., Palstra, A., Verschoor, L., Lugten, O., Onderwater, M., van Schie, S., Niemantsverdriet, P., van Heeswijk, R., Eding, E. and van den Thillart, G. (2005) Gonad development and spawning behaviour of artificially-matured European eel (Anguilla anguilla). Animal Biology 55, 203–218.Google Scholar
Utoh, T., Horie, N., Mikawa, N., Okamura, A., Yamada, Y., Akazawa, A., Tanaka, S. and Oka, H.P. (2005) Annual changes in ovarian development and plasma estradiol-17 beta level in reared female common Japanese conger, Conger myriaster . Fisheries Science 71, 38–47.Google Scholar
Utoh, T., Horie, N., Okamura, A., Mikawa, N., Yamada, Y., Tanaka, S., Oka, H.P. and Tsukamoto, K. (2013) Water temperature manipulation can induce oocyte maturation and ovulation in the common Japanese conger, Conger myriaster . Aquaculture 392–395, 120–127.Google Scholar
Utoh, T., Okamura, A., Yamada, Y., Tanaka, S., Mikawa, N., Akazawa, A., Horie, N. and Oka, H.P. (2004) Reproductive cycle in reared male common Japanese conger, Conger myriaster . Aquaculture 240, 589–605.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wenner, C.A. (1976) Aspects of the biology and morphology of the snake eel, Pisodonophis cruentifer (Pisces, Ophichthidae). Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 33, 656–665.Google Scholar
Yagi, M., Shimoda, M., Uchida, J., Shimizu, K., Aoshima, T. and Kanehara, H. (2013) Record body size of the beach conger Conger japonicus (Anguilliformes: Congridae) in the East China Sea. Marine Biodiversity Records 6, e110.Google Scholar