title: Estimates of the mortality and the duration of the trans-Atlantic migration of European eel Anguilla anguilla leptocephali using a particle tracking model.
abstract: Using Lagrangian simulations, based on circulation models over three different hydroclimatic periods in the last 45 years in the North Atlantic Ocean, the trans-Atlantic migration of the European eel Anguilla anguilla leptocephali was simulated via the passive drift of particles released in the spawning area. Three different behaviours were modelled: drifting at fixed depth, undergoing a vertical migration or choosing the fastest currents. Simulations included mortality hypotheses to estimate a realistic mean migration duration and relative survival of A. anguilla larvae. The mean migration duration was estimated as 21 months and the mortality rate as 3.8 per year, i.e. < 0.2% of A. anguilla larvae may typically survive the trans-Atlantic migration.
authors.affiliation: Agrocampus Ouest, UMR 985 INRA-Agrocampus Ouest Ecologie et Santé des Ecosystèmes, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Halieutique, Rennes Cedex, France. sylvain.bonhommeau@ifremer.fr
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonhommeau
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Le Pape
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gascuel
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Blanke
authors.forename: A-M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Tréguier
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Grima
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Vermard
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castonguay
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rivot
mesh_terms: D000811:Anguilla / Q000502:physiology*; D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D003198:Computer Simulation; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012623:Seawater / Q000032:analysis