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MEPS 683:109-121 (2022)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13931

Effects of environmental factors within the spawning area and migration routes on the length of Anguilla japonica glass eels recruited to Taiwan

Kuan-Mei Hsiung1,2,#, Chi Ma2,#, Chia-Ying Ko2,3,4,#, Yu-Heng Tseng5, Yi-Chun Kuo5, Yu-San Han2,3,*

1School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No.1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai 200030, PR China
2Institute of Fisheries Science, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, No.1 Roosevelt Road, Daan District, Taipei City 10617, Taiwan
3Department of Life Science, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, No.1 Roosevelt Road, Daan District, Taipei City 10617, Taiwan
4Department of Biochemical Science and Technology, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, No.1 Roosevelt Road, Daan District, Taipei City 10617, Taiwan
5Institute of Oceanography, College of Science, National Taiwan University, No.1 Roosevelt Road, Daan District, Taipei City 10617, Taiwan
#Co-first authors
 *Corresponding author:

ABSTRACT: Growth extent varies considerably among recruiting cohorts of Japanese eels Anguilla japonica. However, the effects of oceanic variation on their growth, particularly during the larval stage, remain unclear. We sampled glass eels in northeast Taiwan from 2010 to 2019 and investigated the effects of sea surface temperature (SST), salinity, chlorophyll a (chl a) concentration, and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events on the total length (TL) of these eels by developing a generalized additive model. The results revealed that mean SST between 21 and 24.5°C in the spawning area was associated with TL. Larger TL values were observed from 0.03-0.07 mg m-3 in the spawning area, and along the migration routes TL was greatest when chl a was > 13 mg m-3. Other variables, including mean SST and salinity along the migration route, influenced TL but contributed less than 4.5%. Larger and smaller A. japonica glass eels were observed during El Niño and La Niña years, respectively. Specifically, El Niño years exerted the greatest influence (67.1%) on TL, and this was followed by mean SST (12%) and accumulated chl a concentration (11.4%) within the spawning area. Our results indicated that environmental factors within the spawning area influenced the TL of A. japonica glass eels to a greater extent than did those along the migration routes, and climatic ENSO events exerted an additional important effect regarding changes in TL. Taken together, our results provide fundamental ecological information and a basis for fisheries to more effectively manage A. japonica.


KEY WORDS: Anguilla japonica · Leptocephali metamorphosis · Larval transport processes · Recruitment dynamics · Environmental changes


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Cite this article as: Hsiung KM, Ma C, Ko CY, Tseng YH, Kuo YC, Han YS (2022) Effects of environmental factors within the spawning area and migration routes on the length of Anguilla japonica glass eels recruited to Taiwan. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 683:109-121. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13931

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