Is Global Warming The Cause For The Dwindling European Eel Population

Vincent van Ginneken and Patrick Niemantsverdriet
Additional contact information
Patrick Niemantsverdriet: Blue Green Technologies, Netherlands

Oceanography & Fisheries Open Access Journal, 2017, vol. 2, issue 5, 93-96

Abstract: The European eel has been dwindling since the eighties of the previous century. Animals exhibiting temperature dependent sex determination (TSD), including eels, are perhaps most vulnerable to a warming of the Earth as highly skewed sex ratios can result, potentially leading to population extinction resulting from decreased male recruitment. Here we report based on time series dating from 1930 of annual catch of male and female silver eels from eight sites that are open for glass eel influx around Lake Ijssel, the Netherlands. We observed that the sex ratio was skewed gradually towards females. The significant female-skewness of the sex ratio validated that the population of European eels at these sites has declined to a very low level since the 1930s. From several field and laboratory studies we have indications that Environmental Sex Determination (ESD) is prevalent and that the temperature determines the ultimate sex of the eel. Comprehensive studies of the sexual differences of eels are important for conservation programs.

Keywords: juniper publishers:oncology journals; oncology research journals; oncology journal articles; oncology and cancer case reports; oncology journal of clinical and experimental cancer research; open access; open access journals; Oncology International Journal; juniper publishers reivew (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://juniperpublishers.com/ofoaj/pdf/OFOAJ.MS.ID.555597.pdf (application/pdf)
https://juniperpublishers.com/ofoaj/OFOAJ.MS.ID.555597.php (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:adp:jofoaj:v:2:y:2017:i:5:p:93-96

DOI: 10.19080/OFOAJ.2017.02.555597

Access Statistics for this article

Oceanography & Fisheries Open Access Journal is currently edited by Sophia Mathis

More articles in Oceanography & Fisheries Open Access Journal from Juniper Publishers Inc.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Robert Thomas ().