Mike Lucas
Schenectady NY
On 12/7/05, dlmcneely-in-lunet.edu <dlmcneely-in-lunet.edu> wrote:
>
> North American and European eels (whether they are the same or
> different species or not, which is still somewhat controversial) cannot
> complete their life cycle without returning to the Sargasso Sea, where
> best evidence is that they spawn. They DO NOT spawn in freshwater or
> in coastal waters. The eels in your pond cannot spawn without going to
> sea.
>
> How did they get there, and can they reach a stream that would lead
> them to the sea when they are ready to go? I have read, including in
> respected ichthyology texts, that eels traverse terra firma on rainy,
> or even on dewy nights. This is the explanation for their finding
> their way past dams on rivers. However, few people claim to have
> witnessed this behavior. It is also true that an eel can grow to quite
> an advanced age and large size without migrating back downstream. But
> it will not spawn unless it does migrate.
>
> The life cycle of eels is described in fair detail in the general
> zoology text by Hickman et al.
>
> Dave
>
> David L. McNeely, Ph.D., Professor of Biology
> Langston University; P.O. Box 1500
> Langston, OK 73050; email: dlmcneely-in-lunet.edu
> telephone: (405) 466-6025; fax: 405) 466-3307
> home page http://www.lunet.edu/mcneely/index.htm
>
> "Where are we going?" "I don't know, are we there yet?"
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Mysteryman <bestfish-in-alaweb.com>
> Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2005 3:05 pm
> Subject: Re: NANFA-L-- eels
> > I used to live in a little town called Dunn, in North Carolina,
> > far, FAR
> > away from the coast. There was a little pond in the woods about
> > half the
> > size of my house, and it had eels aplenty in it. I have no idea
> > how they
> > could have gotten there or survived over generations. It's not
> > like they
> > could have returned to the sea for spawning or anything. I guess
> > they
> > don't have to?
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