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The head morphology and body shapes of anguilliform larvae (leptocephali) vary widely by having fewer, much longer teeth in the small larvae and more numerous, but relatively smaller teeth in larger developmental stages. The feeding ecology of leptocephali has been difficult to understand because they do not appear to feed on typical zooplankton like other fish larvae but are mostly found with amorphous organic material in the gut. Observations of the basic morphology of mainly the head and gut contents of anguillid larvae and several families of larger marine eel larvae were made using photographs taken during three recent sampling surveys for leptocephali in the Sargasso Sea spawning area of the European, Anguilla anguilla , and American, Anguilla rostrata , eels. The gut contents of leptocephali consisted of amorphous material that sometimes flowed out of the intestine, and like in the Indo-Pacific, appendicularian houses and fecal pellets and other visible objects were sometimes present. High-magnification microscope images showed the presence of many spherical objects, amorphous and other materials that were likely related to bacteria, protists, fungi, or other organisms. The presence of filter structures confirmed that large oval objects were appendicularian houses, and possible hydrozoan objects were seen in Eurypharynx pelecanoides and Avocettina infans gut contents. The gut contents of A. anguilla , E. pelecanoides , and Kaupichthys hyoproroides leptocephali appeared to contain round ≤40 μm heterotrophic thraustochytrid protists (class Labyrinthulomycetes) that likely colonized marine snow materials consumed by the larvae. These observations support the hypothesis that leptocephali, whose teeth structure and relative teeth sizes change with growth, primarily target overlapping size ranges of marine snow particles as a food source in the Sargasso Sea, and the particles contain a wide range of components that aggregate from the food-web. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several eel species of the genus Anguilla are considered endangered due to a severe decline in recruitment. Up to now, the reasons for this threatening development are not fully understood. The eel's highly specialized biology can lead to explicitly high accumulation of globally distributed organic lipophilic contaminants during its continental life. Because of this and due the particular toxicological sensitivity of early life stages of oviparous organisms towards dioxin-like compounds, it is crucial to improve our understanding concerning toxicokinetics and maternal transfer of organic contaminants in eels. This study presents analytical data on maternal transfer of dioxin-like (dl) compounds in relevant tissue samples taken from artificially matured and non-matured European silver eels ( Anguilla anguilla ) from German inland waters using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC/HRMS). Detected concentrations revealed a lipid-driven transfer of targeted compounds from muscle-fat-reserves to gonads and eggs respectively, with no distinct preferences concerning the chlorination degree of targeted compounds. Dl-PCBs were shown to contribute the major share of toxicity equivalents found in analysed eel tissues. Maternal muscle tissue to egg concentration ratios in wet weight–based samples had a mean of 6.95 ± 1.49 in accordance with the differences in total lipid content in the respective body matrices. Dioxins and furans in analysed samples were (from a toxicological point of view) of less relevance. Furthermore it was shown that muscle concentrations in silver eels could be used in future assessments to make conservative predictions for expected egg concentrations in female eels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The populations of American ( Anguilla rostrata ) and European eels ( Anguilla anguilla ) have been declining rapidly in the last decades. Organic contaminants are suspected to be one of the possible causes for the decline; however, so far there have been few investigations of the uptake of specific compounds by different life cycle stages (e.g. freshwater or marine stage) and how the contamination patterns develop throughout the eel’s life cycle. In the present study we measured concentrations of polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), alternate brominated flame retardants (alternate BFRs) and Dechloranes (Decs) in different life stages of European and American eels to compare the contamination patterns and their development throughout the eel’s life cycle. In general, concentrations of flame retardants (FRs) were similar to or higher in American than in European eels, and a greater number of FRs were detected. PBDE congeners that are characteristic of the Penta-PBDE formulation were the most abundant FRs in all adult eels as well as American glass eels. In European glass eels the alternate BFR 2,3-dibromopropyl-2,4,6-tribromophenylether (DPTE) and Dechlorane Plus were the dominating FRs, with average concentrations of 1.1 ± 0.31 ng g −1 ww and up to 0.32 ng g −1 ww respectively. Of the PBDEs BDE-183 was the most abundant congener in European glass eels. Low concentrations (less than 10% of the total contamination) of Tetra and Penta-PBDEs in juvenile European eels indicated that bans of technical Penta-PBDE in the European Union are effective. Enrichment of PBDEs was observed over the life stages of both European and American eels. However, a greater relative contribution of PBDEs to the sum FR contamination in American eels indicated an on-going exposure to these substances. High contributions of alternate BFRs in juvenile eels indicated an increased use of these substances in recent years. Concentrations seemed to be driven primarily by location, rather than life stage or age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The levels of PBDEs, alternate BFRs and dechloranes in European Eel (Anguilla anguilla) samples (elvers, yellow and silver eels) were investigated to compare the contamination of eels from the rivers Elbe and Rhine and to estimate the BFR contamination throughout the eel’s life cycle. PBDEs were the dominating flame retardants (FRs) in muscle tissues of yellow and silver eels, while the alternate BFR 2,3-dibromopropyl-2,4,6-tribromophenyl ether (DPTE) and the Dechlorane 602 were the dominating FRs in elvers (juvenile eels). Concentrations of FRs in silver eels from river Rhine were generally higher than concentrations in other eels analysed with up to 46ngg−1 wet weight (ww) ∑PBDEs. The concentrations in yellow and silver eels from river Elbe were similar with an average of 9.0±5.1ngg−1 ww and 8.1±3.7ngg−1 ww respectively. PBDE concentrations in elvers were comparably low (0.02 (BDE-100) to 0.1 (BDE-183) ngg−1 ww), which lead to the conclusion that these contaminants were mostly ingested within the rivers. Among the alternate BFRs and dechloranes, DPTE as well as the Dechlorane 602 and Dechlorane Plus (DP) were found in all life cycle stages and rivers with concentrations between 0.01ngg−1 ww and 0.7ngg−1 ww. Dechlorane 603 could only be detected in silver eels from river Rhine. Pentabromoethylbenzene (PBEB) was only found in yellow and silver eels and bis(2-ethylhexyl)tetrabromophthalate (BEHTBP) could only be detected in elvers. These are the first reports of Dec-602 and 603 in aquatic organisms from Europe. The results of this study show the lasting relevance of PBDEs as contaminants in rivers and river-dwelling species but also the growing relevance of emerging contaminants such as alternate BFRs and dechloranes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The understanding of swimming physiology and knowledge on the metabolic costs of swimming are important for assessing effects of environmental factors on migratory behavior. Swim tunnels are the most common experimental setups for measuring swimming performance and oxygen uptake rates in fishes; however, few can realistically simulate depth and the changes in hydrostatic pressure that many fishes experience, e.g. during diel vertical migrations. Here, we present a new hyperbaric swimming respirometer (HSR) that can simulate depths of up to 80 m. The system consists of three separate, identical swimming tunnels, each with a volume of 205 L, a control board and a storage tank with water treatment. The swimming chamber of each tunnel has a length of 1.40 m and a diameter of 20 cm. The HSR uses the principle of intermittent-flow respirometry and has here been tested with female European eels (Anguilla anguilla). Various pressure, temperature and flow velocity profiles can be programmed, and the effect on metabolic activity and oxygen consumption can be assessed. Thus, the HSR provides opportunities to study the physiology of fish during swimming in a simulated depth range that corresponds to many inland, coastal and shelf waters. • A novel hyperbaric swimming respirometer is presented. • Water depths of up to 80 m can be simulated. • Principle of intermittent-flow respirometry is used. • Effects of hydrostatic pressure on swimming physiology can be studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]