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The Silver Eel

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Eel Biology

Abstract

Anguillid eels are famous for their long spawning migrations to the open ocean, and these migrations take place after a transformation from yellow-phase to silver-phase eels (Tesch 1977; see Haro, this volume). Yellow eels in both freshwater and coastal marine habitats undergo a variety of morphological changes when they begin their downstream migration, and these changes appear to be related to the very different environmental conditions and activities associated with a long migration in the open ocean. These changes may ecologically and physiologically facilitate their oceanic migration through environments that are drastically different from their typical habitats in freshwater or coastal areas during their yellow eel growth phase.

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© 2003 Springer-Verlag Tokyo

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Aoyama, J., Miller, M.J. (2003). The Silver Eel. In: Aida, K., Tsukamoto, K., Yamauchi, K. (eds) Eel Biology. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-65907-5_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-65907-5_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo

  • Print ISBN: 978-4-431-65909-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-4-431-65907-5

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