International eel symposium, 2003 - Quebec August 11, 2003
Poster Session

Population and Life History Measures of American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) in the Lower Niagara River, NY

Dittman, D.E.* Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science, US Geological Survey, Cortland NY.
Trometer, E. Lower Great Lakes Fishery Resources Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Amherst, NY

Presenter email address: Dawn_Dittman AT usgs.gov

Abstract Text: The catadromous species, American eel (Anguilla rostrata) has historically been a key ecological component of the native aquatic community in shallow warm water habitats of eastern North America. All current population and recruitment indicators point to a continuing sharp population decline in the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River(LO-SR) eel stock. Data covering the current distribution, population characteristics and ecology of this native species in much of the LO-SLR watershed are limited. Lake Ontario produces eels that have been considered a significant contribution to the production of the entire species. Among the many eel unknowns is information on the current local abundance of freshwater resident yellow eels, population dynamics, and habitat utilization. We conducted an evaluation of a resident population of immature American eels in the lower Niagara River, NY. We measured physical habitat parameters to map the habitat suitable for eel, catch rates with night and day electrofishing, eel length and weight, and age of a subset of animals. A comparison of these population and life history data with those of eels from the St. Lawrence estuary, Maine and the Hudson River serves to increase our knowledge of the range of variability in American eel populations