Fishery-induced selection for slow somatic growth in European eel.
Both theoretical and experimental studies have shown that fishing mortality can induce adaptive responses in body growth rates of fishes in the opposite direction of natural selection. We compared body growth rates in European eel (Anguilla anguilla) from three Mediterranean stocks subject to different fishing pressure. Results are consistent with the hypotheses that i) fast-growing individuals are more likely to survive until sexual maturity than slow-growing ones under natural conditions (no fishing) and ii) fishing can select for slow-growing individuals by removing fast-growing ones. Although the possibility of human-induced evolution seems remote for a panmictic species like such as the European eel, further research is desirable to assess the implications of the intensive exploitation on this critically endangered fish.
Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Parma, Parma, Italy.
Daniele
D
Bevacqua
Fabrizio
F
Capoccioni
Paco
P
Melià
Simone
S
Vincenzi
José M
JM
Pujolar
Giulio A
GA
De Leo
Eleonora
E
Ciccotti
D000811:Anguilla / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D005260:Female; D005398:Fisheries; D008297:Male; D012098:Reproduction