Abstract
Anguillid eels are widely acknowledged for their ecological and socio-economic value in many countries. Yet, knowledge regarding their biodiversity, distribution and abundance remains superficial—particularly in tropical countries such as Indonesia, where demand for anguillid eels is steadily increasing along with the threat imposed by river infrastructure developments. We investigated the diversity of anguillid eels on the western Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java using automated molecular classification and genetic species delimitation methods to explore temporal patterns of glass eel cohorts entering inland waters. A total of 278 glass eels were collected from monthly samplings along the west coast of Sumatra and the south coast of Java between March 2017 and February 2018. An automated, DNA-based glass eel identification was performed using a DNA barcode reference library consisting of 64 newly generated DNA barcodes and 117 DNA barcodes retrieved from BOLD for all nine Anguilla species known to occur in Indonesia. Species delimitation methods converged in delineating eight Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs), with A. nebolusa and A. bengalensis being undistinguishable by DNA barcodes. A total of four MOTUs were detected within the glass eel samples, corresponding to Anguilla bicolor, A. interioris, A. marmorata, and A. nebulosa/A. bengalensis. Monthly captures indicated that glass eel recruitment peaks in June, during the onset of the dry season, and that A. bicolor is the most prevalent species. Comparing indices of mitochondrial genetic diversity between yellow/silver eels, originating from several sites across the species range distribution, and glass eels, collected in West Sumatra and Java, indicated a marked difference. Glass eels displayed a much lower diversity than yellow/silver eels. Implications for the management of glass eel fisheries and species conservation are discussed.
Highlights
The freshwater eel family Anguillidae consists of 20 species and two genera [1], all well known for their catadromous life-cycles
We investigated the diversity of anguillid eels on the western Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java using automated molecular classification and genetic species delimitation methods to explore temporal patterns of glass eel cohorts entering inland waters
The yellow/silver eel Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) sequences were combined with 117 sequences retrieved from BOLD into a DNA barcode reference library comprising 181 COI mostly full-length sequences (652 bp) for the 9 species of Anguilla occurring in Indonesia [1,23]
Summary
The freshwater eel family Anguillidae consists of 20 species and two genera [1], all well known for their catadromous life-cycles. Demand for anguillid species has steadily increased in recent years; eel farming solely relies on wildcaught juvenile eels (elvers, silver eels), as breeding in captivity is not yet commercially viable [11,13,14]. For Indonesia, a total of seven to nine species has been reported, as the biological status of two species pairs (A. bengalensis vs A. nebulosa, A. borneensis vs A. malgumora) is still under debate [7,22,23,24]. This diversity is among the highest in the Indo-Pacific Ocean; few attempts have been made to document diversity and distribution of Anguilla spp. in Indonesia. There is a clear and pressing need to assess spatial and temporal patterns of all life stages of tropical anguillid eels to gain a comprehensive understanding of their ecology
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