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Jacoby DMP, Piper AT. What acoustic telemetry can and cannot tell us about fish biology. J Fish Biol 2023. [PMID: 37837176 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
Acoustic telemetry (AT) has become ubiquitous in aquatic monitoring and fish biology, conservation, and management. Since the early use of active ultrasonic tracking that required researchers to follow at a distance their species of interest, the field has diversified considerably, with exciting advances in both hydrophone and transmitter technology. Once a highly specialized methodology, however, AT is fast becoming a generalist tool for those wishing to study or conserve fishes, leading to diversifying application by non-specialists. With this transition in mind, we evaluate exactly what AT has become useful for, discussing how the technological and analytical advances around AT can address important questions within fish biology. In doing so, we highlight the key ecological and applied research areas where AT continues to reveal crucial new insights and, in particular, when combined with complimentary research approaches. We provide a comprehensive breakdown of the state of the art for applications of AT, discussing the ongoing challenges, where its strengths lie, and how future developments may revolutionize fisheries management, behavioral ecology and species protection. Through selected papers we illustrate specific applications across the broad spectrum of fish biology. By bringing together the recent and future developments in this field under categories designed to broadly capture many aspects of fish biology, we hope to offer a useful guide for the non-specialist practitioner as they attempt to navigate the dizzying array of considerations and ongoing developments within this diverse toolkit.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M P Jacoby
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, UK
| | - Adam T Piper
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, UK
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Williamson MJ, Pike C, Gollock M, Jacoby DMP, Piper AT. Anguillid eels. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R888-R893. [PMID: 37699341 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/14/2023]
Abstract
Anguillid eels have fascinated humans for centuries, but our knowledge of these mysterious fish is still scant. There are 19 species or subspecies in the genus Anguilla, which are found globally, except in the eastern Pacific and southern Atlantic. Their common label 'freshwater eels' is a misnomer - all anguillids are facultatively catadromous, born in marine environments, developing in continental waters, with a proportion never entering freshwater at all. Anguillid eels have several life history traits that have allowed them to exploit a broad range of habitats. As such, anguillid eels play an important ecological role in both marine and freshwater environments as well as being commercially valuable. Because of this, anguillid eels are under threat from multiple stressors, such as barriers to migration, pollution, parasites, disease, climate change and unsustainable exploitation. Six species are listed as Threatened in the Red List of Threatened Species, and four are listed as Data Deficient. Strengthening conservation and management of these species is essential, and further research provides an exciting opportunity to develop a greater understanding of this mysterious clade of fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Williamson
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Outer Circle, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK; Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Darwin Building, 99-105 Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Charlotte Pike
- Conservation and Policy, Zoological Society of London, Outer Circle, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Matthew Gollock
- Conservation and Policy, Zoological Society of London, Outer Circle, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - David M P Jacoby
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
| | - Adam T Piper
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Outer Circle, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK; Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Darwin Building, 99-105 Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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Boardman RM, Pinder AC, Piper AT, Gutmann Roberts C, Wright RM, Britton JR. Effects of preservation by ethanol on δ 13 C and δ 15 N of three tissues of the critically endangered European eel Anguilla anguilla. J Fish Biol 2023. [PMID: 37013794 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
The temporal effects of ethanol preservation on the δ13 C and δ15 N values of tissues excised from European eel Anguilla anguilla were assessed. Preservation significantly enriched 13 C values of fin and mucus but not dorsal muscle. The 13 C enrichment occurred in the initial 15 days of preservation and was independent of initial eel mass. Tissue preservation effects on δ15 N values were negligible. These tissue-specific isotopic shifts should be considered when ethanol-preserved eel samples are used.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rose M Boardman
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
| | - Adrian C Pinder
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
| | - Adam T Piper
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, UK
| | - Catherine Gutmann Roberts
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Science, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Rosalind M Wright
- Environment Agency, Rivers House, Threshelfords Business Park, Feering, UK
| | - John Robert Britton
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
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Wright RM, Piper AT, Aarestrup K, Azevedo JMN, Cowan G, Don A, Gollock M, Rodriguez Ramallo S, Velterop R, Walker A, Westerberg H, Righton D. Author Correction: First direct evidence of adult European eels migrating to their breeding place in the Sargasso Sea. Sci Rep 2022; 12:21684. [DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-26117-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
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Wright RM, Piper AT, Aarestrup K, Azevedo JMN, Cowan G, Don A, Gollock M, Rodriguez Ramallo S, Velterop R, Walker A, Westerberg H, Righton D. First direct evidence of adult European eels migrating to their breeding place in the Sargasso Sea. Sci Rep 2022; 12:15362. [PMID: 36229475 PMCID: PMC9562336 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19248-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is critically endangered (according to the most recent IUCN assessment) and has suffered a 95% decline in recruitment since the 1980s, attributed in part to factors occurring during the marine phases of its life-cycle. As an adult, the European eel undertakes the longest spawning migration of all anguillid eels, a distance of 5000 to 10,000 km across the Atlantic Ocean to the Sargasso Sea. However, despite the passage of almost 100 years since Johannes Schmidt proposed the Sargasso Sea as the breeding place of European eels on the basis of larval surveys, no eggs or spawning adults have ever been sampled there to confirm this. Fundamental questions therefore remain about the oceanic migration of adult eels, including navigation mechanisms, the routes taken, timings of arrival, swimming speed and spawning locations. We attached satellite tags to 26 eels from rivers in the Azores archipelago and tracked them for periods between 40 and 366 days at speeds between 3 and 12 km day-1, and provide the first direct evidence of adult European eels reaching their presumed breeding place in the Sargasso Sea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosalind M Wright
- Environment Agency, Threshelfords Business Park, Feering, Essex, CO5 9SE, UK.
| | - Adam T Piper
- Institute of Zoology, Regents Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK.
| | - Kim Aarestrup
- Technical University of Denmark, National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Vejlsoevej 39, 8600, Silkeborg, Denmark
| | - Jose M N Azevedo
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes and Faculdade de Ciências E Tecnologia, Universidade Dos Açores, Rua Mãe de Deus, 9500-321, Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal
| | | | - Andy Don
- Environment Agency, Rivers House, East Quay, Bridgwater, TA6 4YS, UK
| | - Matthew Gollock
- Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK
| | | | | | - Alan Walker
- The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 0HT, UK
| | - Håkan Westerberg
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Freshwater Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Stångholmsvägen 2, 178 93, Drottningholm, Sweden
| | - David Righton
- The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 0HT, UK.
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Boardman RM, Pinder AC, Piper AT, Roberts CG, Wright RM, Britton JR. Non-lethal sampling for the stable isotope analysis of the critically endangered European eel Anguilla anguilla: how fin and mucus compare to dorsal muscle. J Fish Biol 2022; 100:847-851. [PMID: 35025118 PMCID: PMC9303185 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Ecological studies on the critically endangered European eel Anguilla anguilla often incorporate stable isotope analysis that typically uses dorsal muscle sampled from euthanised eels. To minimise the lethal sampling of imperilled populations, fin tissue and/or epidermal mucus can provide non-lethal alternatives to muscle. The results here indicate that δ13 C and δ15 N values of both eel fin and mucus are not significantly different from those of muscle and can be applied directly in comparative SI studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rose M. Boardman
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and TechnologyBournemouth UniversityPooleUK
| | - Adrian C. Pinder
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and TechnologyBournemouth UniversityPooleUK
| | - Adam T. Piper
- Institute of ZoologyZoological Society of LondonLondonUK
| | - Catherine Gutmann Roberts
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and TechnologyBournemouth UniversityPooleUK
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental ScienceUniversity of PlymouthPlymouthUK
| | | | - J. Robert Britton
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and TechnologyBournemouth UniversityPooleUK
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Piper AT, Manes C, Siniscalchi F, Marion A, Wright RM, Kemp PS. Response of seaward-migrating European eel (Anguilla anguilla) to manipulated flow fields. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:rspb.2015.1098. [PMID: 26136454 PMCID: PMC4528561 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.1098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic structures (e.g. weirs and dams) fragment river networks and restrict the movement of migratory fish. Poor understanding of behavioural response to hydrodynamic cues at structures currently limits the development of effective barrier mitigation measures. This study aimed to assess the effect of flow constriction and associated flow patterns on eel behaviour during downstream migration. In a field experiment, we tracked the movements of 40 tagged adult European eels (Anguilla anguilla) through the forebay of a redundant hydropower intake under two manipulated hydrodynamic treatments. Interrogation of fish trajectories in relation to measured and modelled water velocities provided new insights into behaviour, fundamental for developing passage technologies for this endangered species. Eels rarely followed direct routes through the site. Initially, fish aligned with streamlines near the channel banks and approached the intake semi-passively. A switch to more energetically costly avoidance behaviours occurred on encountering constricted flow, prior to physical contact with structures. Under high water velocity gradients, fish then tended to escape rapidly back upstream, whereas exploratory ‘search’ behaviour was common when acceleration was low. This study highlights the importance of hydrodynamics in informing eel behaviour. This offers potential to develop behavioural guidance, improve fish passage solutions and enhance traditional physical screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam T. Piper
- International Centre for Ecohydraulics Research, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
- e-mail:
| | - Costantino Manes
- International Centre for Ecohydraulics Research, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - Fabio Siniscalchi
- Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padua, via Marzolo 9, Padova 35131, Italy
| | - Andrea Marion
- Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padua, via Marzolo 9, Padova 35131, Italy
| | - Rosalind M. Wright
- Environment Agency, Rivers House, Threshelfords Business Park, Inworth Road, Feering CO5 9SE, UK
| | - Paul S. Kemp
- International Centre for Ecohydraulics Research, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
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Piper AT. Multiple lessons. Pain Res Manag 2002; 6:172. [PMID: 11854761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/23/2023]
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