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<p>The Japanese eel, <i>Anguilla japonica,</i> is a commercially important fish species. Most eels intended for consumption are currently produced in aquaculture systems that rely exclusively on wild-caught glass eels. Studies on the diet of glass eels and elvers have been limited in the wild populations. In the present study, we evaluated the feeding habits of Japanese glass eels and elvers in the Sendai River estuary of southern Japan using morphological and DNA metabarcoding analyses of the gut contents as well as stable isotope analyses of glass eels and elvers. Among 80 glass eels, amorphous materials were observed in the guts of 11 glass eels using stereomicroscopy. The feeding intensity of glass eels increased with increasing water temperature. Various eukaryotes were detected by DNA metabarcoding analysis of the gut contents of glass eels. Planktonic and benthic organisms were identified in the guts of six of the 10 elvers. The carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values were significantly different between glass eels and elvers. Our results suggest that Japanese glass eels resume feeding mainly on detrital particulate organic matter after metamorphosis and start actively feeding on planktonic and benthic organisms after the elver stage.</p>

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Analyses of gut content and isotopic composition of Japanese eel Anguilla japonica glass eels and elvers from an estuary in southern Japan

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年7月8日

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  • Gen Kume,
  • Hiroki Takahira,
  • Masafumi Kodama,
  • Kazuhiko Anraku,
  • Tomonari Kotani,
  • Junya Hirai,
  • Toru Kobari

摘要

The Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica, is a commercially important fish species. Most eels intended for consumption are currently produced in aquaculture systems that rely exclusively on wild-caught glass eels. Studies on the diet of glass eels and elvers have been limited in the wild populations. In the present study, we evaluated the feeding habits of Japanese glass eels and elvers in the Sendai River estuary of southern Japan using morphological and DNA metabarcoding analyses of the gut contents as well as stable isotope analyses of glass eels and elvers. Among 80 glass eels, amorphous materials were observed in the guts of 11 glass eels using stereomicroscopy. The feeding intensity of glass eels increased with increasing water temperature. Various eukaryotes were detected by DNA metabarcoding analysis of the gut contents of glass eels. Planktonic and benthic organisms were identified in the guts of six of the 10 elvers. The carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values were significantly different between glass eels and elvers. Our results suggest that Japanese glass eels resume feeding mainly on detrital particulate organic matter after metamorphosis and start actively feeding on planktonic and benthic organisms after the elver stage.