Pop Up Satellite Tags Impair Swimming Performance and Energetics of the European Eel (Anguilla anguilla)

Methling, Caroline; Tudorache, Christian; Skov, Peter Vilhelm; Steffensen, John F.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020797

Cited by 58 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…The average speed is greater than that reported in previous studies of oceanic eel migration (Aarestrup et al 2009) and may reflect the greater spatial accuracy with which we reconstructed the migration route. These data also suggest that the swimming ability of eels was not significantly compromised by the tag or the tagging procedure (Methling et al 2011) and, as suggested in previous studies, provides optimism that tracking the full journey to the Sargasso Sea will be possible with further improvements in tag technology.…”

Section: Migration Speedssupporting

confidence: 78%

Behaviour of stocked and naturally recruited European eels during migration

Westerberg

Sjöberg²,

Lagenfelt³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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One objection to the stocking of translocated eels as a management measure for the European eel Anguilla anguilla L. is that these eels may lack the ability to find their way back to the spawning area in the Sargasso Sea because the translocation will confuse their imprinted navigation. We undertook a series of tagging experiments using satellite tags, data storage tags and acoustic tags to test the hypothesis that eels translocated 1200 km from the UK to Sweden differed in their ability to migrate compared to naturally recruited eels. Eels to be tagged were caught in 2 locations, one with a record of eel stocking for more than 20 yr and with a series of barriers to upstream migration and another in a river with only natural immigration and without barriers to upstream migration. In the first year, the naturally recruited and stocked eels were released in a fjord where the initial escapement behaviour could be monitored by acoustic tagging in addition to using archival tags to track the subsequent marine migration. In the second year, eels were tagged with archival or satellite tags and released on the open coast, and only their marine migration was investigated. Eels were tracked more than 2000 km along a route that, after leaving the Skagerrak, followed the Norwegian Trench to the Norwegian Sea, turned south and west along the Faroe-Shetland channel before emerging into the Atlantic Ocean, and then continued west. There were no statistically significant differences in estuarine or oceanic behaviour regarding route, swimming speed and preferred swimming depth between stocked and naturally recruited eels. These results provide the first empirical evidence of a Nordic migration route and do not support the hypothesis that a sequential imprinting of the route during immigration is necessary for adequate orientation or behaviour during the adult spawning migration.

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Section: Migration Speedssupporting

confidence: 78%

Behaviour of stocked and naturally recruited European eels during migration

Westerberg

Sjöberg²,

Lagenfelt³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…However, for larger PSAT tags (2-3 % tag/bm), several studies have reported strong effects on swimming performance of eels, including up to three-fold increases in energy cost of transport [69][70][71]. Using spherical PSAT dummies of varying sizes, in a series of respirometry measurements and kinematic analyses, Tudorache et al [71] suggested that the optimal location for single point attachment of PSAT tags is more anterior than at the middle of the body length in eels.…”

Section: Swimming Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

The use of external electronic tags on fish: an evaluation of tag retention and tagging effects

et al. 2015

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External tagging of fish with electronic tags has been used for decades for a wide range of marine and freshwater species. In the early years of fish telemetry research, it was the most commonly used attachment method, but later internal implants became preferred. Recently, the number of telemetry studies using external tagging has increased, especially with the development of archival tags (data storage tags, DSTs), pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) and other environment-sensing tags. Scientific evaluations of the tagging method are rather scarce for most species. We identified 89 publications, reporting effects of external tagging for 80 different fish species, which constitute the main basis for this review. External attachment holds certain benefits compared to other tagging methods, for example, speed of application, and it may be the only option for fishes with a body shape unsuitable for surgical implantation, or when using tags with sensors recording the external environment. The most commonly reported problems with external tags are tissue damage, premature tag loss, and decreased swimming capacity, but the effects are highly context dependent and species specific. Reduced growth and survival have also been recorded, but direct mortality caused by external tagging seems rare. Most of the studies reviewed evaluate tag retention, survival, and tissue reactions. There is a general need for more research on the effects of external tagging of fish with electronic tags, but particularly there are few studies on predation risk, social interactions, and studies distinguishing capture and handling effects from tagging effects. For PSATs, especially those that are large relative to fish size, there are particular problems with a high proportion of premature tag losses, reduced swimming capacity, and likely increased predation, but there remains a paucity of tag effect studies related to the use of PSATs. Before embarking on a field study employing external tagging with electronic tags, we recommend the use of appropriate pilot studies, controlled where possible, to quantify potential impacts of tagging.

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“…We expected that frequency, amplitude and speed would be adjusted to maintain efficiency or a given St in low-and high-drag conditions. Some swimmers are able to compensate and maintain St (Noren et al 2011, Nudds et al 2014, whereas others have significantly greater and suboptimal St with drag loading (Lang & Daybell 1963;Methling et al 2011). In this study, the St of right whale Eg 3911 was significantly lower on descent than ascent, but did not change significantly following removal of entangling fishing gear (Fig.…”

Section: Changes In Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 52%

“…Here, we examine tag data from these 2 entangled whales with differences in natural and added drag and buoyant forces, manipulated during disentanglement procedures, with the expectations that: (1) fluke strokes and swimming speed would be altered to maintain normal power output under high drag loading conditions (Skrovan et al 1999, Simon et al 2012, van der Hoop et al 2014a; (2) individuals should take advantage of added buoyancy, reducing thrust and increasing speed in the buoyancy-aided direction (Aoki et al 2011, Miller et al 2012, Nousek-Mc Gregor et al 2014; and (3) swimming efficiency would be reduced when entangled. Together, these hypotheses address whether animals maintain optimal swimming under drag loading, or whether physiological and anatomical constraints limit the plasticity of these parameters and the maintenance of efficient swimming techniques under high loading conditions (Methling et al 2011, Nudds et al 2014, Shimojo et al 2014.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%