Evolutionary Morphology of Vertebrates, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, Ghent 9000, Belgium.
Marine Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
Integr Comp Biol. 2020 Aug 1;60(2):467-475. doi: 10.1093/icb/icaa004.
The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a critically endangered species, whose recruitment stocks have declined to nearly 1% compared to the late 70s. An amalgam of factors is responsible for this, among them migration barriers, pollution, habitat loss, parasite infection, and overfishing. A lot of recent studies focus on aspects that can increase the mature silver eel escapement rate, such as identifying migration barriers and developing passageways or addressing the impact of pollution on the eel's health. However, little attention is given to the eel's morphology in function of management measures. Worryingly, less than 50% of the currently installed management plans reach their goals, strongly indicating that more information is needed about the eel's ecology and behavior. Functional morphological studies provide insights on how species perform behaviors crucial for survival, such as feeding and locomotion, but also in how environmental changes can affect or limit such behaviors. Consequently, functional morphology represents an important biotic component that should be taken into account when making conservation decisions. Hence, here, we provide an overview of studies on the eel's morphology that do not only demonstrate its relation with ecology and behavior, but also provide information for developing and installing proper and more specific management measures.
欧洲鳗（Anguilla anguilla）是一种极度濒危的物种，其补充群体数量与 70 年代末相比下降了近 1%。造成这种情况的原因有很多，包括洄游障碍、污染、栖息地丧失、寄生虫感染和过度捕捞。最近的许多研究都集中在可以提高成熟银鳗洄游率的方面，例如确定洄游障碍和开发通道，或解决污染对鳗鱼健康的影响。然而，很少有人关注鳗鱼形态与管理措施之间的关系。令人担忧的是，目前实施的管理计划中，不到 50%的计划达到了目标，这强烈表明需要更多关于鳗鱼生态和行为的信息。功能形态学研究提供了关于物种如何进行对生存至关重要的行为的见解，例如摄食和运动，还提供了有关环境变化如何影响或限制此类行为的信息。因此，功能形态学代表了一个重要的生物组成部分，在做出保护决策时应该考虑到这一点。因此，在这里，我们提供了对鳗鱼形态学研究的概述，这些研究不仅展示了其与生态和行为的关系，还为制定和实施适当和更具体的管理措施提供了信息。
