Recruitment Patterns and Environmental Sensitivity of Glass Eels of Anguilla japonica in the Yangtze Estuary, China.

ABSTRACT: The decline of Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) populations in the Yangtze River estuary represents a critical conservation concern. Eleven-years of daily catch data during recruitment periods (i.e., January-April, 2012-2022) indicate that annual catch averaged from 153 to 1108 eels, and show a bimodal pattern in glass eel arrivals. Utilizing seasonal-trend decomposition and generalized additive models, we demonstrated a strong correlation between catch abundance, optimal water temperatures, and lunar cycles. An auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model predicts an increase in glass eel numbers for 2023-2024 but also points to a concerning trend of delayed recruitment timing since 2016, attributable to the 0.48 °C per decade rise in sea surface temperatures. This delay

SUBMITTER: Guo H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10813113 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature