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Critical swimming speed of yellow‐ and silver‐phase European eel ( Anguilla anguilla , L.)
Author(s) -
Quintella B. R.,
Mateus C. S.,
Costa J. L.,
Domingos I.,
Almeida P. R.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of applied ichthyology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.392
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1439-0426
pISSN - 0175-8659
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0426.2010.01457.x
Subject(s) - biology , fishery , zoology
Summary The prime objective of this study was to evaluate differences between the swimming performance of two distinct life stages of European eels. The critical swimming speed ( U crit ) of 29 yellow‐ and 33 silver‐phase eels was evaluated in a swim tunnel. Silver‐phase eels showed a better swimming performance ( U crit = 0.66 ms −1 ) than yellow individuals ( U crit = 0.43 ms −1 ). Male and female silver eels reached an identical U crit despite their different sizes, which may be a strategy to increase the synchronization of arrival at the spawning grounds.