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Biochemical and genetic characterization of European silver eels, Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758), from the Comacchio lagoon (Italy)
Author(s) -
Isani G.,
Randi E.,
Rossi B.,
Fabbri E.,
Brunelli F.,
Carpenè E.,
Mucci N.
Publication year - 2015
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/jai.12889
Subject(s) - biology , panmixia , zoology , population , anguillidae , fishery , ecology , genetic structure , genetic variation , fish <actinopterygii> , gene , biochemistry , demography , sociology
Summary The European eel Anguilla anguilla has declined significantly over recent decades, exceeding its safe biological limits and probably reaching a historical minimum (1% of the 1960 recruitment level). Twenty‐three migrating females at the IV stage of silvering were collected from the Comacchio lagoon (Northern Italy); they showed high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, probably due to lipid accumulation before migration across the Atlantic Ocean. Electrophoretic patterns showed high amounts of putative α and β globulins, probably due to high concentrations of lipoproteins. Genetic results obtained from a total of 49 specimens (20 from the Comacchio lagoon and 29 from Val Dogà) agree with the panmixia hypothesis , lacking any genetic differentiation over time and space at neutral loci. In conclusion, despite the small sampling and the population decline in recent years, high levels of variability were recorded.