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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 74(16)

Early life-history characteristics of Conger leptocephali in the western South Pacific

Aya Takeuchi https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1240-2579 A B * , Mari Kuroki B , Michael J. Miller B , John J. Pogonoski C , Tsuguo Otake B and Akinori Takasuka B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, Kindai University, 3327-204 Nakamachi, Nara 631-8505, Japan.

B Department of Aquatic Bioscience, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.

C CSIRO National Research Collections Australia, Australian National fish Collection, GPO Box 1538, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.

* Correspondence to: aya.takeuchi@nara.kindai.ac.jp

Handling Editor: Bridie Allan

Marine and Freshwater Research 74(16) 1404-1419 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF23117
Submitted: 15 June 2023  Accepted: 17 October 2023  Published: 10 November 2023

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Context

Conger eels in temperate regions migrate offshore to reproduce in similar ways as anguillid eels do, but little is known about Conger life histories in the western South Pacific (WSP).

Aims

To show the larval distribution and size, species composition, and early life history of WSP conger eels.

Methods

Morphological and genetic species identification and otolith analysis were conducted using 71 Conger leptocephali individuals collected in five station-transects from 10 July to 3 October 2016 during the KH-16-4 cruise.

Key results

We found C. cinereus, C. monganius, C. verreauxi and Conger sp. 1 leptocephali. Possible spawning areas of C. cinereus and C. verreauxi were discovered, and C. verreauxi appears to migrate offshore to reproduce. Growth rates of the four conger eels were higher than those of temperate Conger species, and of Anguilla leptocephali that were collected in the WSP.

Conclusions

Aspects of the Conger species composition, spawning areas and larval distributions were shown. Conger leptocephali grow faster than do Anguilla leptocephali in the WSP, probably because Conger larvae have larger maximum sizes.

Implications

Our findings have improved understanding of the early life history of Conger species and highlighted need for further studies about life histories of Conger in the Indo-Pacific region.

Keywords: Anguilla, COI, conger eel, growth, leptocephalus, marine eel, otolith, spawning area.