%0 Journal Article %J Progress in Oceanography %D 2019 %T Distribution of anguillid leptocephali and possible spawning areas in the South Pacific Ocean %A Mari Kuroki %A Michael J. Miller %A Eric Feunteun %A Pierre Sasal %A Timothy Pikering %A Yu-San Han %A Elisabeth Faliex %A Anthony Acou %A Aurélie Dessier %A Robert Schabetsberger %A Shun Watanabe %A Tatsuya Kawakami %A Hiroaki Onda %A Takatoshi Higuchi %A Aya Takeuchi %A Madoka Shimizu %A Chinthaka A. Hewavitharane %A Seishi Hagihara %A Terumasa Taka %A Shingo Kimura %A Noritaka Mochioka %A Tsuguo Otake %A Katsumi Tsukamoto %K Early life history %K Freshwater eels %K Migration %K otolith %K South Pacific %K Spawning %X Seven South Pacific anguillid eel species live from New Guinea to French Polynesia, but their spawning areas and life histories are mostly unknown despite previous sampling surveys. A July–October 2016 research cruise was conducted to study the spawning areas and times, and larval distributions of South Pacific anguillid eels, which included a short 155°E station-line northeast of New Guinea and five long transects (5–25°S, 160°E–140°W) crossing the South Equatorial (SEC) and other currents. This survey collected nearly 4000 anguilliform leptocephali at 179 stations using an Isaacs-Kidd Midwater Trawl accompanied by 104 CTD casts. Based on morphometric observations and DNA sequencing, 74 anguillid leptocephali were collected, which in the southern areas included 29 larvae of six species: Anguilla bicolor pacifica, A. marmorata, A. australis, A. reinhardtii, A. megastoma,and A. obscura (all anguillid species of the region were caught except A. dieffenbachii). Small A. australis (9.0–16.8 mm) and A. reinhardtii (12.4, 12.5 mm) leptocephali were collected south of the Solomon Islands, other A. australis (10.8–12.0 mm) larvae were caught northwest of Fiji along with an A. obscura (20.0 mm) larva, and an A. marmorata (7.8 mm) larva was collected near Samoa. Considering collection sites, larval ages from otolith analysis, and westward SEC drift, multiple spawning locations occurred from south of the Solomon Islands and the Fiji area (16–20 days old larvae) to near Samoa (19 days old larva) during June and July in areas where high-salinity Subtropical Underwater (STUW, 150 m depth) and the warm, low-salinity surface Fresh Pool were present. Five long hydrographic sections showed the strong Fresh Pool in the west and the STUW formation area in the east. %B Progress in Oceanography %V 180 %P 102234 %G eng %U http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079661119304148 %R https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2019.102234 %0 Journal Article %J Fisheries Management and Ecology %D 2019 %T High genetic diversity and lack of pronounced population structure in five species of sympatric Pacific eels %A Gubili, Chrysoula %A Robert Schabetsberger %A Poellabauer, Christine %A Bates, Becky %A Wagstaff, Rosa M. %A Woodward, Lewis M. %A Sichrowsky, Ursula %A Scheck, Alexander %A Boseto, David T. %A Eric Feunteun %A Anthony Acou %A Jehle, Robert %K genetic homogeneity %K hybridisation %K recruitment %K Spawning %K Sympatry %K tropical eels %X Understanding the population structure of tropical anguillids residing in the Pacific is vital for their conservation management. Here, the population genetic structure of five sympatric freshwater eels (Anguilla marmorata Quoy & Gaimard, A. megastoma Kaup, A. obscura Steindachner, A. reinhardtii Günther and A. australis Richardson) across 11 western South Pacific (WSP) islands was investigated based on partial nucleotide sequences of the mtDNA control region and the nuclear GTH2b genes of 288 newly collected samples jointly with existing sequences. WSP anguillids are characterised by overall high levels of genetic diversity. Both mtDNA and nuclear sequences provided no evidence for distinct geographic clines or barriers in any of the species across the WSP. The occurrence of admixed individuals between A. marmorata and A. megastoma was confirmed, and a new possible occurrence of a further species was revealed (A. interioris Whitley on Bougainville Island). All species showed evidence for demographic population growth in the Pleistocene, and a subsequent population reduction for A. megastoma. Common spawning grounds and mixing of larvae by ocean currents could promote the lack of pronounced isolation by distance, a finding that has significant implications for the future management of anguillids in the area. %B Fisheries Management and Ecology %V 26 %P 31-41 %G eng %U https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fme.12287 %R 10.1111/fme.12287