Synopsis
Collections of recently hatched American eel leptocehali including specimens less than 5.5 mm total length suggest the following hypotheses: 1) that thermal fronts separating the northern and southern surface water masses of the Sargasso Sea form the northern limit of American eel spawning, and 2) that some feature of the surface water mass in the southern Sargasso Sea serves as a cue for adult American eels to cease migrating and begin spawning activity.
Article PDF
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References cited
Backus, R.H., J.E. Craddock, R.L. Haedrich & D.L. Shores. 1969. Mesopelagic fishes and thermal fronts in the western Sargasso Sea, Mar. Biol. 3: 87–106.
Beatty, D.D. 1975. Visual pigments of the American eel Anguilla rostrata. Vision Res. 15: 771–776.
Boëtius, I. & J. Boëtius. 1967. Studies on the European eel,Anguilla anguilla (L.). Experimental induction of the male sexual cycle, its relation to the temperature and other factors. Medd. Danm. Fisk. Havunders. 4: 339–405.
Colton, J.B., D.E. Smith & J.W. Jossi. 1975. Further observations on a thermal front in the Sargasso Sea. Deep-Sea Res. 22: 433–439.
Comparini, A. & E. Rodino. 1980. Electrophoretic evidence for two species ofAnguilla leptocephali in the Sargasso Sea. Nature 287: 435–437.
Ege, V. 1939. A revision of the genusAnguilla Shaw, a systematic, phylogenetic and geographical study. Dana Rep. 16: 1–256.
Ekman, S. 1932. Prinzipielles über die Wanderungen und die tiergeographische Stellung des europäischen Aales,Anguilla anguilla (L.). Zoogeographica 1: 85–106.
Jamieson. A. & R.J. Turner. 1980. Muscle protein differences in two eels,Anguilla anguilla (Linneaus) andAnguilla rostrata Le Sueur. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 13: 41–45.
Katz, E.J. 1969. Further study of a front in the Sargasso Sea. Tellus 21: 259–269.
Kleckner, R.C. 1980. Swimbladder volume maintenance related to initial migratory depth in silver-phaseAnguilla rostrata. Science 208: 1481–1482.
Kleckner, R.C. & W.H. Krueger. 1981. Changes in swimbladder retial morphology inAnguilla rostrata during premigration metamorphosis. J. Fish. Biol. 18: 569–577.
Marshall, N.B. 1960. Swimbladder structure of deep-sea fishes in relation to their systematics and biology. ‘Discovery’ Rep. 31: 1–122.
Marshall, N.B. 1972. Swimbladder organization and depth ranges of deep-sea teleosts. Symp. Soc. exp. Biol. 26: 261–272.
Passakus, T. 1981. Comparative studies on the chromosomes of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) and the American eel (Anguilla rostrata Le Sueur). Folia Biol. 29: 41–57.
Pickard, G.L. 1979. Descriptive physical oceanography, 3rd ed. Pergamon Press, New York. 233 pp.
Robins, C.R., D.M. Cohen & C.H. Robins. 1979. The eels,Anguilla andHistobranchus, photographed on the floor of the deep Atlantic in the Bahamas. Bull. Mar. Sci. 29: 401–405.
Ryther, J.H. & D.W. Menzel. 1960. Seasonal and geographical range of primary production in the western Sargasso Sea. Deep-Sea Res. 6: 235–238.
Schmidt, J. 1925. The breeding places of the eel. Ann. Rep. Smithsonian Inst. for 1924: 279–316.
Schoth, M. & F.-W. Tesch. 1982. Spatial distribution of 0-group eel larvae (Anguilla spec.) in the Sargasso Sea. Helgoländer Wiss. Meeresunters. 35: 309 320.
Schroeder, E.H. 1965. Average monthly temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean. Deep-Sea Res. 12: 323–343.
Voorhis, A.D. 1969. The horizontal extent and persistence of thermal fronts in the Sargasso Sea. Deep-Sea Res. 16: 331–337.
Voorhis, A.D. & J.B. Hersey. 1964. Oceanic thermal fronts in the Sargasso Sea. J. Geophys. Res. 69: 3809–3814.
Winn, H.E., W.A. Richkus & L.K. Winn. 1975. Sexual dimorphism and natural movements of the American eel (Anguilla rostrata) in Rhode Island streams and estuaries. Helgol. wiss. Meeresunters. 27: 156- 166.
Wittenberg, J.B., D.E. Copeland, R.L. Haedrich & J.S. Child. 1980. The swimbladder of deep-sea fish: the swimbladder wall is a lipid rich barrier to oxygen diffusion. J. mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. 60: 263–276.
Yamamoto, K. & K. Yamauchi. 1974. Sexual maturation of Japanese eel and production of eel larvae in the aquarium. Nature 251: 220–222.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kleckner, R.C., McCleave, J.D. & Wippelhauser, G.S. Spawning of American eel,Anguilla rostrata, relative to thermal fronts in the Sargasso Sea. Environ Biol Fish 9, 289–293 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00692377
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00692377