18 December 2017 – The Research Council of Norway’s MARINFORSK Program has funded a four-year project (2018-2021) – led by Caroline Durif – to understand the factors that drive European eels to either colonize freshwater systems or remain in saltwater systems or shift habitat by determining their relative ecological advantage in terms of growth, fatty acid profiles, dietary pattern and parasite load; 2) identify patterns in the different life-history strategies of eels (saltwater, freshwater, or habitat shifting), for example along a latitudinal gradient 3) determine the proximate drivers (environmental and biological) of migrations between freshwater and saltwater. 4) characterize habitat use of eel in marine waters and investigate the effect of the swimbladder parasite on their swimming behaviour.
The project is co-financed by the Institute of Marine Research, Coastal Ecosystems Program and the co-investigators are Howard Browman, Anne Berit Skiftesvik, Even Moland, Eva Thorstad, Francoise Daverat, Michael Arts, Janet Koprivnikar, Michael Power, Leif Asbjørn Vøllestad.
Read more about the project HERE.
