Morphological and Allometric Changes in Anguilla japonica Larvae

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The freshwater eel Anguilla japonica is a commercially important in Northeast Asia. However, eels farming is entirely dependent on natural catches, and eel resources are declining. This study was conducted to provide baseline information on the development of mass seed production technology necessary for the conservation of species and the maintenance of aquaculture. This study was conducted for 200 days after hatching (DAH) and analyzed morphometry and allometry. In this study, cultured eel larvae stages were divided in size similar to wild eel larvae, but cultured eel differed from wild eel in growth rate and the number of preanal myomeres. In addition, as eel larvae rarely have mixed feeding periods, it is important to determine the optimal first feeding time. The eel larvae may need a change in diet type to prevent lower jaw deformity in the leptocephalus stage. As eel larvae changed to a willow leaf-like form, the relative growth pattern of the eel larval stages was unique. This growth pattern may reflect the early life history of long distance and diel vertical migration. Meanwhile, the inflection point in the body parts’ growth patterns showed only before 30 DAH and was similar to the period of mass mortality. Therefore, future studies should focus on developing an optimal feeding and rearing protocol from the first feeding to 30 DAH. ABSTRACT: The freshwater eel Anguilla japonica is rapidly decreasing in number and has not yet been successfully mass produced. This may be at least partially attributable to the unique and long early life history of the eel. Therefore, we investigated its ontogeny of morphometry and growth pattern in larval stages to provide baseline information for understanding the early life history and improving seed rearing technology. This study was conducted for 200 days after hatching (DAH) and analyzed morphometry and allometry for eel larvae. The following cultured eel larval stages were identified: the yolk sac larvae stage (0–6 DAH, 3.23–6.85 mm total length (TL)), the pre-leptocephalus stage (7–30 DAH, 6.85–15.31 mm TL), and the leptocephalus stage (50–200 DAH, 15.31–60.06 mm TL). Cultured and wild eel larvae could be divided into characteristic larval stages at similar sizes. However, compared to wild eels, cultured eels had a slower growth rate and fewer preanal myomeres. Meanwhile, cultured eel larvae rarely had a mixed feeding period as the absorption of endogenous reserves was completed by 7 DAH. The lower jaw of eel larvae was significantly longer than the upper jaw from 50 DAH. In the pre-leptocephalus and leptocephalus stages, eel larvae showed continuous positive allometric growth at trunk height and tail muscle height with change to the willow leaf-like form. These growth characteristics may be the result of adaptation to the migration over long distances and to a diel vertical migration. The inflection point in the body parts growth patterns showed only before 30 DAH, and mass mortality appeared at this period. Therefore, to improve the growth and survival rates of cultured eel seed, it is necessary to focus on improving the feeding and rearing protocol until 30 DAH.