A bit of quiet between the migrations: the resting life of the European eel during their freshwater growth phase in a small stream
Ovidio, M.; Seredynski, A.L.; Philippart, J.C.; Matondo, B.N. (2013). A bit of quiet between the migrations: the resting life of the European eel during their freshwater growth phase in a small stream. Aquat. Ecol. 47(3): 291-301. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10452-013-9444-1
The movements and habitat use of resident yellow eels were studied in a stream stretch having both natural and minimum flow zones. N = 12 individuals (total length 505–802 mm) were surgically tagged with radio transmitters and released at their capture sites. They were located using manual radio receivers during the daytime from 2 to 5 days/week over periods ranging from 200 to 329 days, for a total of 1,098 positions. Eels showed home ranges ranging from 33 to 341 m (median value, 62 m), displayed strong fidelity to sites and demonstrated a great degree of plasticity in habitat use. Eels were slightly mobile throughout the year, but their movements were season and temperature dependent, with a maximum during the spring (mean water temperature, 12 °C) and a minimum in winter (3 °C). Stones and roots (utilization rate greater than 50 % of eels for more than 30 % of location days) were significantly the most frequently used habitats. Between the two flow zones, the natural flow was the most occupied, with a significantly higher proportion of resident eels (66.7 % of radio-tagged yellow eels) and longer occupation (81 % of location days) than the minimum flow zone with less suitable habitats.
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