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Koster W, Church B, Crook D, Dawson D, Fanson B, O'Connor J, Stuart I. Factors influencing migration of short-finned eels (Anguilla australis) over 3 years from a wetland system, Lake Condah, south-east Australia, downstream to the sea. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2024; 104:1824-1835. [PMID: 38483100 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
Anguillid eel populations are under threat globally. A particularly vulnerable life-cycle stage is the migration of mature adult eels downstream from freshwater habitats through estuaries into the sea to spawn. This study investigated the factors associated with downstream migration of the short-finned eel Anguilla australis (Richardson 1841) from a coastal wetland (Lake Condah) in south-east Australia, using acoustic telemetry. Migration was associated with time of the year, higher water level and river flows, decreasing water temperature, and darker moon phases. Larger individuals and those in better condition were more likely to migrate from the wetland. Downstream migration peaked in spring, in contrast to the typical autumn migration period for other temperate anguillids. Variable responses, in comparison to other studies, highlight how migration cues may not be universal. In south-east Australia, short-finned eels may have evolved to migrate in multiple phases by first migrating to the estuary during typical seasonal spring flow pulses (e.g., to avoid being stranded in upland reaches during dry summer periods) and then migrating into the ocean in autumn. More research is needed to unravel these processes and causes, especially considering that the relationship between migration and hydrology may be complex and confounded (e.g., by human-induced disruptions to migratory pathways).
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Affiliation(s)
- Wayne Koster
- Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
| | - Ben Church
- Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation, Heywood, Victoria, Australia
| | - David Crook
- NSW Department of Primary Industries, Narrandera, New South Wales, Australia
| | - David Dawson
- Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
| | - Ben Fanson
- Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
| | - Justin O'Connor
- Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
| | - Ivor Stuart
- Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
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de Eyto E, Kelly S, Rogan G, French A, Cooney J, Murphy M, Nixon P, Hughes P, Sweeney D, McGinnity P, Dillane M, Poole R. Decadal Trends in the Migration Phenology of Diadromous Fishes Native to the Burrishoole Catchment, Ireland. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.915854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Migration is an important ecological trait that allows animals to exploit resources in different habitats, obtaining extra energy for growth and reproduction. The phenology (or timing) of migration is a highly heritable trait, but is also controlled by environmental factors. Numerous studies have reported the advancement of species life-events with climate change, but the rate and significance of such advancement is likely to be species specific, spatially variable and dependent on interactions with population and ecosystem changes. This is particularly true for diadromous fishes which are sentinels of change in both freshwater and marine domains, and are subject to considerable multiple stressors including overfishing and habitat degradation. Here, we describe trends in the migration phenology of three native Irish migratory fishes over half a century, Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), brown trout (Salmo trutta) and European eel (Anguilla anguilla). The trends were derived from daily counts of 745,263 fish moving upstream and downstream through the fish traps of the Burrishoole catchment, an internationally important monitoring infrastructure allowing a full census of migrating fish. We found that the start of the seaward migration of eel has advanced by one month since 1970. The commencement of the salmon smolt migration has advanced by one week, although the rest of the migration, and the entirety of the trout smolt run has remained stable. The beginning of the upstream migration of trout to freshwater has advanced by 20 days, while the end of the run is more than one month later than in the 1970’s. The greatest phenological shift has been in the upstream migration of adult salmon, with at least half of migrating fish returning between one and two months earlier from the marine environment compared to the 1970’s. The earlier return of these salmon is coincident with reduced marine survival and decreasing body size, indicating considerable oceanic challenges for this species. Our results demonstrate that the impacts of climate change on the phenology of diadromous fish are context-dependent and may interact with other factors. The mobilization of long-term datasets are crucial to parse the ecological impacts of climate change from other anthropogenic stresses.
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Arevalo E, Maire A, Tétard S, Prévost E, Lange F, Marchand F, Josset Q, Drouineau H. Does global change increase the risk of maladaptation of Atlantic salmon migration through joint modifications of river temperature and discharge? Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211882. [PMID: 34875197 PMCID: PMC8651411 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
In freshwater ecosystems, water temperature and discharge are two intrinsically associated triggers of key events in the life cycle of aquatic organisms such as the migration of diadromous fishes. However, global changes have already profoundly altered the thermal and hydrological regimes of rivers, affecting the timing of fish migration as well as the environmental conditions under which it occurs. In this study, we focused on Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), an iconic diadromous species whose individuals migrate between marine nursery areas and continental spawning grounds. An innovative multivariate method was developed to analyse long-term datasets of daily water temperature, discharge and both salmon juvenile downstream and adult upstream migrations in three French rivers (the Bresle, Oir and Nivelle rivers). While all three rivers have gradually warmed over the last 35 years, changes in discharge have been very heterogeneous. Juveniles more frequently used warmer temperatures to migrate. Adults migrating a few weeks before spawning more frequently used warm temperatures associated with high discharges. This has already led to modifications in preferential niches of both life stages and suggests a potential mismatch between these populations' ecological preference and changes in their local environment due to global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elorri Arevalo
- INRAE, Unité EABX-Écosystèmes Aquatiques et Changements Globaux, HYNES (Irstea-EDF R&D), 50 avenue de Verdun, 33612 Cestas Cedex, France
| | - Anthony Maire
- EDF Recherche et Développement, Laboratoire National d'Hydraulique et Environnement, HYNES (Irstea-EDF R&D), 6 quai Watier, 78401 Chatou Cedex, France
| | - Stéphane Tétard
- ICEO Environnement, 220 rue des Ailes, 85440 Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, France
| | - Etienne Prévost
- Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, e2s UPPA, INRAE, ECOBIOP, Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, France
| | - Frédéric Lange
- Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, e2s UPPA, INRAE, ECOBIOP, Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, France
| | - Frédéric Marchand
- INRAE, Unité Expérimentale d'Écologie et d'Écotoxicologie Aquatique, 65, rue de Saint-Brieuc, 35042 Rennes CEDEX, France
| | - Quentin Josset
- UMR BOREA 7208, Muséum National D'Histoire Naturelle, Service des Stations Marines, 35800 Dinard, France.,MIAME - Management of Diadromous Fish in their Environment, OFB, INRAE, Institut Agro, UNIV PAU & PAYS ADOUR/E2S UPPA, Rennes, France.,Office Français de la Biodiversité, Direction Recherche et Appui Scientifique, Rue des Fontaines, 76260 Eu, France
| | - Hilaire Drouineau
- INRAE, Unité EABX-Écosystèmes Aquatiques et Changements Globaux, HYNES (Irstea-EDF R&D), 50 avenue de Verdun, 33612 Cestas Cedex, France
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