Can displaced Anguilla marmorata return to their original habitat? Daily tracking study of their homing behavior

J Fish Biol. 2024 Sep;105(3):998-1003. doi: 10.1111/jfb.15824. Epub 2024 May 29.

Abstract

Anguilla marmorata collected in the Odana River lower reaches were passive integrated transponder-tagged displaced and released into the upper river reaches (54 up-transported eels), and eels collected in the upper reaches were tagged and released downstream (52 down-transported eels). Their movements were detected once per day for 10 days using a portable radio-frequency identification (RFID) system. The homing rate of the down-transported eels was 38.9%, compared to 3.7% for the up-transported eels, suggesting that eels inhabiting upstream areas have relatively high fidelity to their habitats and downstream eels have less fidelity.

Keywords: Amami‐Oshima Island; Anguilla marmorata; displacement experiment; homing behavior; site fidelity; yellow eel.

MeSH terms

  • Anguilla* / physiology
  • Animals
  • Ecosystem*
  • Homing Behavior*
  • Radio Frequency Identification Device
  • Rivers*