Compiled Eel Abstracts: American Fisheries Society 2014 Annual Meeting August 18-21, 2014 Quebec City, Quebec, Canada [Compiled/organized by R. Wilson Laney, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Raleigh, NC, USA] International Eel Symposium 2014: Are Eels Climbing Back up the Slippery Slope? Monday, August 18, 2014: 1:30 PM 206B (Centre des congrès de Québec // Québec City Convention Centre) Martin Castonguay, Institut Maurice-Lamontagne, Pêches et Océans Canada, Mont-Joli, QC, Canada David Cairns, Science Branch, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Charlottetown, PE, Canada Guy Verreault, Ministere du Développement durable, de l'Environnement, de la Faune et des Parcs, Riviere-du-Loup, QC, Canada John Casselman, Dept. of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada This talk will introduce the symposium. The first part will outline how the Symposium is structured, where to see Symposium posters, the panel, publication plans, etc. This would be followed by a brief outline of eel science and conservation issues, and how the Symposium will address these. I will then present with some level of detail the themes that the symposium will cover. The Introduction would also state the question that will be addressed by the panel discussion, and ask participants to keep this question in mind as they listen to the various talks. In closing, the introductory talk will outline the purpose of the Canada/USA Eel governance session that will be held at the very end of the meeting, after the Symposium panel. Publishing in the eel symposium proceedings - An orientation from the Editor-in- Chief of the ICES Journal of Marine Science Monday, August 18, 2014: 5:00 PM 206B (Centre des congrès de Québec // Québec City Convention Centre) Howard Browman, Marine Ecosystem Acoustics, Institute of Marine Research, Storebø, Norway I will provide symposium participants with a status report on the ICES Journal of Marine science. I will describe our editorial screening and manuscript assessment procedures, acceptance criteria and what we are and are not looking for, and timelines for decision and publication. I will then field questions. 1 Table of Contents American Eel Papers—Canada……………………………………………………………Pages 3-20 American Eel Papers—United States………………………………………………….Pages 20-37 American/European Eel Papers………………………………………………………….Pages 38-44 Caribbean, Central and South American Eel Papers……………………………Pages 44-45 European Eel Papers…………………………………………………………………………..Pages 45-72 Pacific Eel Species Papers…………………………………………………………………..Pages 72-78 Posters……………………………………………………………………………………………….Pages 78-84 2 American Eel Papers—Canada Chemical Contamination As a Potential Factor in Recruitment of American Eel to Lake Ontario Wednesday, August 20, 2014: 11:50 AM 206B (Centre des congrès de Québec // Québec City Convention Centre) Peter Hodson, School of Environmental Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada Mehran Alaee, National Water Research Institute, Environment Canada Claude Belpaire, Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Belgium R. Stephen Brown, Department of Chemistry, Queen's University Jonathan Byer, Leco Corporation John Casselman, Dept. of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada Catherine Couillard, Institut Maurice Lamontagne, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Mont-Joli, QC, Canada Sharilyn Kennedy, Environmental Sciences Group, Royal Military College of Canada Michel Lebeuf, Institut Maurice Lamontagne, Fisheries and Oceans Canada Jocelyne Pellerin, Centre Océanographique de Rimouski, U. de Québec à Rimouski Cyril Rigaud, Centre Océanographique de Rimouski, U. de Québec à Rimouski Pollutants are a possible cause of declines in yellow eel recruitment to L. Ontario since the 1980s. L. Ontario eels accumulate dioxin-like compounds (DLCs) to the same extent as lake trout, which suffered embryo mortality from maternally-derived DLCs. Sexual maturation transfers lipids and associated persistent, hydrophobic contaminants to oocytes. Eels recruiting to L. Ontario in the 1980s-90s were spawned from parents that integrated contaminant exposures from the 1960s-70s, when contamination was highest. Chemicals extracted from L. Ontario eels captured in 1988 and 98 caused dioxin-like toxicity when injected into eggs of mummichog. However, extracts from 2008 eels were non-toxic to embryos of mummichog and Japanese medaka, as were extracts of eels from other locations in E. Canada, in contrast to extracts of European eels from a contaminated site in Belgium. The decrease in toxicity from 1988 to 2008 corresponds to decreasing concentrations of DLCs and total dioxin equivalents in eel tissues, and to early signs of a recovery of recruitment to L. Ontario. While impacts of DLCs on eels might be a concern of the past, measurements of brominated and fluorinated compounds argue for on-going monitoring of trends in contamination and assessment of toxic effects. Habitat Use of American Eels in the Saint Lawrence River Inferred from Multi- Element Otolith Line Scans Tuesday, August 19, 2014: 11:50 AM 207 (Centre des congrès de Québec // Québec City Convention Centre) José Benchetrit, Département de biologie, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada Mélanie Beguer-Pon, Department of Biology, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada Pascal Sirois, Chaire de recherche sur les espèces aquatiques exploitées, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, QC, Canada Martin Castonguay, Institut Maurice-Lamontagne, Pêches et Océans Canada, Mont-Joli, QC, Canada 3 John D. Fitzsimons, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Burlington, ON, Canada Julian J. Dodson, Département de biologie, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada Although considerable evidence has demonstrated that catadromy is a facultative behavior for the American eel, this question has yet to be investigated within a large hydrographic system. In an attempt to retrace habitat use retrospectively, LA ICP-MS was used to obtain multi-element line scans from the otoliths of 110 yellow-stage and silver eels sampled at various locations throughout the vast Saint Lawrence River Lake Ontario (SLRLO) system. Elemental profiles for 88Sr, 138Ba, 55Mn and 24Mg enabled us to quantitatively distinguish three chemical signatures that might correspond to distinct habitats within the SLRLO. Elevated strontium and low barium levels suggest that one of these signatures corresponds to brackish estuarine habitats while the other two represent habitats within freshwater. Analysis of dissolved element concentrations from water samples supports the interpretation that the latter two correspond to tributary and main stem river signatures. Most (78%) of the observed switches between these three habitats occurred within the first four years after the elver check, providing evidence that eels are more likely to settle in one habitat as they grow older. The patterns of habitat use and movements inferred from this study have important implications for the management and conservation of the species. How Does Salinity Influence Habitat Selection and Growth in Juvenile American Eels? Tuesday, August 19, 2014: 4:20 PM 207 (Centre des congrès de Québec // Québec City Convention Centre) Brian Boivin, Océanographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada Martin Castonguay, Institut Maurice-Lamontagne, Pêches et Océans Canada, Mont-Joli, QC, Canada Céline Audet, Océanographie, UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À RIMOUSKI, Rimouski, QC, Canada Scott Pavey, Biologie, Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada Mélanie Dionne, Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec, Québec, QC, Canada Louis Bernatchez, Biologie, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada Despite the collapse in abundance of the American eel (Anguilla rostrata) in the upper St. Lawrence River, little remains known about the influence of environmental cues on habitat selection by glass eels (juveniles) and how this distribution affects growth. Glass eel’s salinity preference and locomotor activity were assessed in 4 rivers across eastern Canada for 2 sampling time periods in 2011 and 2012. Glass eels were categorized according to their salinity preference and the growth rate of each group was subsequently monitored in controlled fresh (FW) and brackish (BW) environments for 7 months. Most glass eels (78-89 %) did not show any preference toward either FW or salt water (SW) suggesting that a majority of glass eels may remain in brackish water environments in the wild. Neither the salinity preference showed by glass eels in previous experiments nor the rearing salinity influenced growth during the course of the experiments. However, glass eels from the Atlantic coast reached a significantly higher mass than those from the St. Lawrence Estuary, supporting the hypothesis of genetic differences between glass eels of different locations. Our results provide important ecological knowledge for the sustained exploitation and conservation of this endangered species. 4 American Eel Tracking and Tag Detection Efficiency in High Flow Environments Wednesday, August 20, 2014: 9:20 AM 2104A (Centre des congrès de Québec // Québec City Convention Centre) Jeremy E. Broome, Acadia Centre for Estuarine Research, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada Anna M. Redden, Biology Department, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada Rod Bradford, Population Ecology Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, NS, Canada Michael Stokesbury, Department of Biology, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada Edmund Halfyard,