Environmental and Life Sciences Programme, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, BE 1410, Brunei Darussalam.
Institute of Oceanography and Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia.
Sci Rep. 2017 Aug 8;7(1):7593. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-07837-x.
Along with the mysteries of their ecology, freshwater eels have fascinated biologists for centuries. However, information concerning species diversity, geographic distribution, and life histories of the tropical anguillid eels in the Indo-Pacific region are highly limited. Comprehensive research on the species composition, distribution and habitat use among tropical anguillid eels in the Peninsular Malaysia were conducted for four years. A total of 463 specimens were collected in the northwestern peninsular area. The dominant species was A. bicolor bicolor constituting of 88.1% of the total eels, the second one was A. bengalensis bengalensis at 11.7%, while A. marmorata was the least abundant at 0.2%. A. bicolor bicolor was widely distributed from upstream to downstream areas of the rivers. In comparison, A. bengalensis bengalensis preferred to reside from the upstream to midstream areas with no tidal zones, cooler water temperatures and higher elevation areas. The habitat preference might be different between sites due to inter-species interactions and intra-specific plasticity to local environmental conditions. These results suggest that habitat use in the tropical anguillid eels might be more influenced by ambient environmental factors, such as salinity, temperature, elevation, river size and carrying capacity, than ecological competition, such as interspecific competition.
与淡水鳗的生态之谜一样，几个世纪以来，它们也一直吸引着生物学家的兴趣。然而，有关热带鳗鲡在印度洋-太平洋地区的物种多样性、地理分布和生活史的信息非常有限。在马来西亚半岛，对热带鳗鲡的物种组成、分布和栖息地利用进行了为期四年的综合研究。在半岛西北部地区共采集了 463 个标本。主要物种是双色鳗，占总鳗鱼的 88.1%，其次是孟加拉鳗，占 11.7%，而大理石鳗则最少，占 0.2%。双色鳗广泛分布于河流的上下游地区。相比之下，孟加拉鳗更喜欢栖息于无潮汐区、水温较低和海拔较高的上游到中游地区。由于种间相互作用和种内对当地环境条件的可塑性，不同地点的栖息地偏好可能不同。这些结果表明，热带鳗鲡的栖息地利用可能更多地受到环境因素（如盐度、温度、海拔、河流大小和承载能力）的影响，而不是生态竞争（如种间竞争）。
