Evidence for genetic differentiation in the european conger eel Conger conger based on mitochondrial DNA analysis

ABSTRACT:   The European conger eel Conger conger is an important marine benthic fish in the North-East Atlantic and represents a valuable fishery resource. However, little is known about its reproductive biology. In an attempt to gain a better understanding of the conger eel population structure, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences were examined. A region with 432 bp of the control region of the mtDNA was sequenced from 40 individuals from six different locations around the central and eastern North Atlantic Ocean. Thirty variable positions defined 28 distinct haplotypes. The average sequence difference within samples (1.3–4.2%) was comparable to those between samples (1.4–3.6%). MtDNA sequence-based statistical tests showed significant geographic differentiation between some local population samples, suggesting that the conger eel does not comprise a single panmictic population. However, given our sample sizes, these preliminary results should be interpreted with caution and more individuals from more sites, including the Mediterranean Sea, should be analyzed in detail. The genetic variability detected in this study is an initial step to elucidate the genetic background of the conger eel population structure.     

Oogenesis in the common Japanese conger Conger myriaster

ABSTRACT:    We investigated the process and characteristics of oogenesis in the common Japanese conger Conger myriaster . Young fish caught in November 1996 were reared for use in this experiment. Fish were sampled monthly from December 1997 to August 1998. Some were injected with human chorionic gonadotropin to stimulate ovarian maturation from May to August 1998. Oocytes from the chromatin nucleolus stage to the secondary yolk globule stage were obtained from non-hormone-treated fish; those of more advanced stages were obtained from hormone-treated ones. We divided oocyte development into eight stages from the chromatin nucleolus stage to the maturation stage. The yolk vesicle stage was not separated because yolk vesicles began to appear just after appearance of yolk globules. Oocyte, oil droplet, yolk globule and nucleus diameters all increased concomitant with oocyte development. Oil droplet and yolk globule diameters increased remarkably at the maturation stage. However, zona radiata thickness peaked at the secondary yolk globule stage, decreasing gradually thereafter. Increased gonadosomatic index was related to oocyte development as found in European and Japanese eels receiving hormone treatment to mature. The present study is the first report describing oogenesis characteristics in congrid eels. It indicates that oogenesis is almost identical to that of other anguillid eels.     

Cloning of estrogen receptor-β cDNA of common Japanese conger Conger myriaster and expression of the gene during oocyte development

ABSTRACT:   Estrogen receptor (ER) cDNA was cloned from the liver of common Japanese conger Conger myriaster . Common Japanese conger ER cDNA contains 2543 nucleotides including an open reading frame that encodes 596 amino acids, with a molecular weight of 66.1 kDa. The deduced amino-acid sequence of the common Japanese conger ER shares 85% identity with that of eel Anguilla japonica ER-β, and 39–46% and 53–59% identity with the deduced sequences of ER-α and ER-β of other species, respectively. In a phylogenetic analysis, the common Japanese conger ER was found to cluster with the ER-β of other species. The common Japanese conger ER-β also has six domains (A–F), which are conserved in the nuclear receptor superfamily. The amino-acid sequences in the C and E domains were highly conserved between common Japanese conger ER-β and other ER. However, the other domains showed low homology. In the female common Japanese conger, ER-β mRNA was highly expressed in the liver and pituitary gland. The expression levels of the ER-β gene increased from the oil droplet stage to the primary yolk globule stage and were maintained until the migratory nucleus stage.     

星康吉鳗笼网目选择性研究

研究不同网目尺寸的笼网对星康吉鳗(Conger myriaster)的选择性。在实验室水槽中,模拟套网法实验获得星康吉鳗的生物学特征参数,使用Logistic曲线作为研究笼具的选择性模型,求得不同网目尺寸笼网对星康吉鳗的体长选择性曲线,并用极大似然法估算选择性参数,为探讨捕捞星康吉鳗的最适网目尺寸进行基础性研究。结果表明:网目尺寸为33mm、40mm、55mm的笼网目选择率分别在星康吉鳗体长l(0,39cm)、l(0,42cm)、l(0,48cm)时,体长选择率几乎为0;网目尺寸为26mm、33mm、40mm的笼网目选择率在星康吉鳗体长lH48cm、lH60cm、lH66cm时,体长选择率接近于100%;而网目尺寸为55mm的笼网对星康吉鳗的选择率最大只达到50%。网目尺寸为26mm、33mm、40mm、55mm时,星康吉鳗的50%选择体长L50分别为40.083cm、48.212cm、55.874cm、66.500cm;选择范围SR分别为5.419cm、11.578cm、14.354cm、18.000cm;选择系数SF为1.542、1.461、1.397、1.209。通过比较发现,随着笼网网目尺寸的增加,L50和SR逐渐增大,选择系数SF则呈递减趋势。     

Development of embryos and larvae in the common Japanese conger Conger myriaster

Development of embryos and larvae in the common Japanese conger Conger myriaster was observed after artificial fertilization. Eggs were obtained from females matured artificially by hormone injections and milt was obtained from males matured naturally. Fertilized eggs were kept in seawater at 12–14°C. The first cleavage occurred at 4 h, epiboly began at 24 h, the embryonic body was formed at 38 h and hatching occurred at 84 h after insemination. Newly hatched larvae were approximately 2.5 mm (total length) and similar to those of Anguilla japonica in terms of external features. The mouth and anus opened on the 7th day after hatching. Pigments began to appear at the tip of the tail on the 10th day. The total length of the larvae reached approximately 8 mm on the 11th day. Eye pigmentation began on the 14th day. One larva lived for 19 days without food.     

海州湾星康吉鳗的摄食生态特征

根据2011年3—12月在海州湾及其邻近海域进行的5个航次的底拖网调查,通过分析516尾星康吉鳗(Conger myriaster)的胃含物样品,对其食物组成、食性类型、摄食强度、营养生态位以及营养级等摄食生态特征进行了初步研究。结果表明,星康吉鳗摄食的饵料种类有40余种,鱼类、虾类和头足类是其最主要的3种饵料类群,优势饵料生物有尖海龙(Syngnathus acus)、矛尾虾虎鱼(Chaeturichthys stigmatias)、鲜明鼓虾(Alpheus distinguendus)、枪乌贼(Loligo sp.)等。星康吉鳗的食性类型以底栖动物和游泳动物食性为主,其食物组成存在明显的季节变化和肛长变化,除在4个季节均摄食大量的鱼类和虾类外,秋季还摄食大量头足类。不同肛长组星康吉鳗摄食的主要饵料种类存在明显差异:肛长小于70 mm的星康吉鳗主要摄食枪乌贼,70~99 mm的星康吉鳗主要摄食绯(Callionymus beniteguri)和鲜明鼓虾,大于100 mm的星康吉鳗则主要以枪乌贼、尖海龙(Syngnathus acus)和鲜明鼓虾为食。星康吉鳗的空胃率和平均胃饱满指数存在明显的季节变化,空胃率夏季最低,春季最高;平均胃饱满指数春季最低,秋季最高。星康吉鳗的营养级为4.17,表明其在海州湾食物网中处于较高的营养位置。本研究发现,海州湾星康吉鳗的摄食随季节和肛长的变化,主要与其栖息海域中优势饵料生物的种类组成和丰度有关,因此,通过定期监测星康吉鳗的摄食可间接了解基础饵料生物种类和数量的变动情况,同时也为食物网的构建和生态系统营养动力学的研究提供基础资料。     

投喂频率对工厂化循环水养殖星康吉鳗生长、生理指标及其水质的影响

本研究采用生理学和实验生态学方法探究了工厂化循环水养殖模式下,不同投喂频率对星康吉鳗(Conger myriaster)生长、生理指标以及水质因子的影响。选用初始体重为(150.64±5.43) g的星康吉鳗为研究对象,实验共设2组,分别为1次/天(T1组)、2次/天(T2组),每组3个重复,实验周期为70d。实验每14d检测各养殖池实验鱼平均体重和循环水系统水质指标;实验结束时,采集星康吉鳗血液、组织相关样品,用于生长、生理指标的测定与分析。结果显示,T2组终末体重(FBW)、终末体长(FBL)、增重率(WGR)、特定生长率(SGR)显著高于T1组(P<0.05),T1组饲料系数(FCR)显著高于T2组(P<0.05)。T1组血清丙二醛(MDA)显著高于T2组(P<0.05),T2组肝脏谷草转氨酶(AST)、肝脏谷丙转氨酶(ALT)、肠道胰蛋白酶(TPS)显著高于T1组(P<0.05)。T1组、T2组出口水NH₄⁺-N、NO₂^--N 24 h变化中分别有1处(24:00)和...     

Age, growth and reproductive biology of the European conger eel (Conger conger) from the Atlantic Iberian waters

The European conger eel, Conger conger, is a fish widely distributed in the north-eastern Atlantic, being an important commercial and recreational fish species. A total of 85 juvenile congers eels were used in this study. Seventy-three congers were captured mainly by hook and pots in inshore waters (10–15 m depth) of the Iberian Peninsula (North Portugal and Vigo), monthly from March 1998 to March 2000. Another twelve specimens have been captured during a research cruise (R.V. “Capricórnio”) in summer 1999 by trawl at depths about 400 m in south Portugal. The length and weight of the congers eels ranged from 38 to 173 cm and 125 to 14,553 g, respectively. The observation of burnt otoliths under UV light proved to be a useful method for ageing conger eels. Marginal increment analysis was used to validate the annual pattern in the deposition of bright zones in the otoliths. Age for the congers ranged from 2 to 12 years. The VBF population growth curve estimates from the otoliths of the females gave results of L_∞ = 265 cm, k = 0.07 and t₀ = −1.20. Sex determination and gonadal development were obtained from histological analysis. All the specimens collected in the coastal shallow waters were females, either immature or in a developing stage. The ovaries contained oocytes in two main stages of development: a pre-vitellogenic stage and an early vitellogenic stage. The few males (n = 4) observed have been captured in the trawl fishery at deeper waters. The males possessed small cells spermatogonias and spermatocytes clustered in crypts in the testis scattered in a matrix of adipose tissue. The sexual steroids, 17β-oestradiol and testosterone, were measured in blood plasma samples by solid-phase radioimmunoassay. Both sexual steroids presented a high correlation with the sexual development stage in terms of maximum oocyte diameter and gonadosomatic index. This work presents for the first time, data on age, reproductive biology and endocrinology of conger eels captured in the west coast of the Iberian Peninsula.     

Population status and distribution of whitespotted conger (Conger myriaster) in Yellow Sea: An important migratory species along coastal China with limited data

Whitespotted conger (Conger myriaster) is a marine migratory species with important economic and ecological values in Northwestern Pacific. The population status and distribution of whitespotted conger may have changed in the eastern coastal water of China owing to the intensive fishing pressure and human activities in the past few decades. There have been miscellaneous concerns about its population trend and potential environment‐driven variations in spatiotemporal distribution. Delta‐generalized linear models, generalized linear mixed models, and a set of correlation analyses were performed to answer the above concerns, and a stratified random sampling‐designed bottom trawl survey from 2011 to 2017 in Haizhou Bay of the central Yellow Sea was conducted to collect samples. Our study suggested that whitespotted conger remained a relatively stable population status with slight fluctuations likely caused by climate variability during 2011–2017. The hierarchical generalized linear mixed models with spatial random effect performed better than the generalized linear model and the common generalized linear mixed models. Spatiotemporal differences of whitespotted conger were significantly associated with bottom water salinity, depth, sampling time, and space, which were probably mainly influenced by a combination of the Cold Water Mass, the Yellow Sea Warm Current, and the Yellow Sea Coastal Current. The predicted spatiotemporal distribution of whitespotted conger has a monthly variation matching its seasonable migration and an overall higher abundance in the deeper water than that in the neritic areas in Haizhou Bay.     

Genetic identification of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Conger myriaster</Emphasis> leptocephali in East China Sea

ABSTRACT:   A subsample of Conger leptocephali collected in the East China Sea (ECS) was genetically analyzed and most were found to be the larvae of Conger myriaster , the most commercially important marine eel species in East Asia. However, these leptocephali (22.3–74.0 mm total length [TL]) did not have a complete row of lateral pigmentation, like the leptocephali of this species are commonly known to have when they are collected over the continental shelf or in coastal waters as they recruit. These leptocephali were in the western edge of the Kuroshio Current and the mixing zone over the shelf in the northern part of the ECS, and two smaller leptocephali (22.3, 46.5 mm TL) were collected to the south of the Ryukyu Islands. This evidence of an ontogenetic change in the presence of lateral pigmentation of C. myriaster indicates that previous efforts to determine the spawning area and recruitment patterns based on only morphological examination of Conger leptocephali in the region must be reconsidered. New research efforts based on genetic identification methods are needed to understand the spawning ecology and recruitment of this important fishery species.     

Size selectivity of escape holes in conger tube traps for inshore hagfish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eptatretus burgeri</Emphasis> and white-spotted conger <Emphasis Type="Italic">Conger myriaster</Emphasis> in Tokyo Bay

ABSTRACT:   In Tokyo Bay, conger tube-trap fishers voluntarily deployed escape holes of at least 13 mm diameter to reduce the by-catch of young conger smaller than the marketable size of 35 cm total length. Comparative fishing experiments in Tokyo Bay were carried out using tube traps with seven hole diameters (3, 9, 13.5, 14, 15, 17, and 19 mm), to obtain the size-selectivity of the escape-hole size for inshore hagfish Eptatretus burgeri and white-spotted conger Conger myriaster . On the assumption of the geometrical similarity in the combination of body g and hole perimeter m at a given retention probability, a single master curve s ( R ) = exp(−13.52 + 11.31 R )/(1 + exp [−13.52 + 11.31 R ]) was estimated for the two species in terms of relative R  =  g / m using the Share Each LEngth's Catch Total (SELECT) process based on a multinomial distribution. Almost all conger and hagfish with a girth equivalent to the hole perimeter were able to pass through the hole. Thus, the two species have a high ability to escape through a narrow space by squeezing the body through the hole in the rigid PVC tube. Optimum escape-hole size is discussed from several objectives for conger tube-trap fishery management, e.g. reduction of hagfish by-catch. This study also specifies the conditions for pooling data when fishing experiments using more than two fishing gears are replicated.     

Fishing performance of environmentally friendly tubular pots made of biodegradable resin (PBS/PBAT) for catching the conger eel Conger myriaster

Lost or abandoned fishing gear made of synthetic fibers or plastics that do not decompose in the sea. These gear result in “ghost fishing”, that retain their function as fishing gear. To solve this problem, we developed fishing gear made of aliphatic polyester (PBS/PBAT), which is biodegraded by microorganisms after a certain period. The marine fishing performance of the biodegradable material of tubular pots for conger eel was compared with that of commercial pots in the southern coastal sea of Korea, where fishing gear loss rates are high. A comparative analysis of the elastic recovery of different types of funnel material was conducted. Two types of fishing gear were tested: (1) a pot with a body and funnel made of biodegradable materials and (2) a commercial pot made of recycled polyethylene (PE). Then, field experiments were conducted on the two pot types, which were arranged alternately. The funnel rips made of biodegradable material showed better elastic recovery than that of the commercial pot. Marine fishing performance of the biodegradable pots was similar to that of the commercial pots (Mann–Whitney test, p > 0.05). There was also no significant difference in the catch per unit effort (CPUE) by the Mann–Whitney test, p > 0.05. Thus, biodegradable materials represent an environmentally friendly alternative to recycled PE for fabricating tubular pots to catch conger eel.     

Population structure of the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica as examined by mitochondrial DNA sequencing

SUMMARY: To examine the population structure of the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica , mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis was made for various samples of glass eels that might reflect genetic characteristics of spawning aggregates. The mitochondrial DNA from a total of 51 glass eels collected at Tanegashima Island, Kanagawa and Ibaraki in different periods within an inshore migrating season was sequenced for a 615 base-pair fragment from the tRNA^Thr gene to the central part of the control region. The DNA region was so variable that no individual was found to possess the same sequence, although average sequence differences within samples (1.07–1.63) were not large. Average sequence differences between samples (1.22–1.57) were comparable to those within samples, suggesting no genetic heterogeneity among samples. Tree analysis of the sequences showed neither a geographical nor temporal structure of population. Furthermore, although all DNA sequences from the present study were different from one another, two sequences were found to be the same with those reported from individuals collected in different localities in different years. Altogether, the present mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis of glass eels did not provide any evidence for genetic subdivision of the Japanese eel population.     

Sequence variability in the mitochondrial DNA control region of five Sebastes species

ABSTRACT: Sequence variability of the control region of mitochondrial DNA in five Sebastes species ( S. thompsoni , S. joyneri , S. inermis , S. schlegeli and S. owstoni ) was investigated. Of 324 nucleotide sites in the control region of S. thompsoni , 56 sites (17.3%) varied, and all 20 individuals had different haplotypes. The other four species had between five and 17 sites (1.5–5.9%), which was fewer than that observed in S. thompsoni . The nucleotide diversity of S. thompsoni was highest (3.45%) among the five species, and that of S. schlegeli was the lowest (0.19%). The results demonstrated that sequence variability exists in the control region of the five Sebastes fishes investigated, and that sequence data in the control region may be suitable for stock structure analysis. Also, the extent of genetic variablitiy in the control region differed among these species. In particular, the mitochondrial DNA control region in S. thompsoni was characterized by high sequence variability, which may indicate a large effective population size.     

泥鳅线粒体DNA控制区结构分析及遗传多样性研究

采用PCR和DNA测序技术对4个泥鳅（Misgurnus anguillicaudatus）群体的线粒体DNA控制区序列进行比较,研究其遗传多样性和控制区的结构。结果显示,用于分析的线粒体DNA控制区片段序列为918～920bp。32个序列中共发现了56个多态位点,其中32个转换位点,19个颠换位点,5个转换与颠换同时存在的位点,定义了32种单倍型。同时对控制区结构进行分析,识别了其终止序列区（ETAS）、中央保守区（CD）和保守序列区（CSB）的关键序列。4个地理群体的单倍型多样性（Hd）、核苷酸多样性（Pi）和平均核苷酸差异数（K）分别为0．992、0．012和10．698。群体间的平均Kimura双参数遗传距离（Kimura 2-parameter distance,K2-P）、遗传分化指数（Fst）、基因交流值（Nm）和分子方差分析（AMOVA）均表明4个泥鳅群体具有较高的遗传分化,基因交流贫乏。利用核苷酸序列构建的NJ分子系统树揭示4个群体分为2个谱系,除范县群体外,其余各群体间相互交叉聚集。