Magnetoreception and magnetic compass orientation in the long distance migration of the European eel

The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, a common part of the fish community in European coastal and inland waters, spawns in the Sargasso Sea. The larvae drift or migrate with currents to the coasts of Europe and North Africa. Once there, large numbers of yo ung eels grow up in widely different habitats. Most migrate into fresh water, and stay there until they metamorphose into the migratory silver stage. Silver eels then migrate to spawning areas in the Sargasso Sea. One very important unanswered question is how the eel is able to correctly navigate to their appropriate spawning area. Telemetric studies indicate that the silver eel follow more or less fixed compass courses. It has long been postulated that eels use the Earth's magnetic field to guide their m ovements, yet this has never been unequivocally demonstrated. The goal of the project proposed here is to test the following hypotheses: (1) the European eel is capable of magnetic compass orientation, (2) magnetic compass preferences are population-spec ific, and (3) magnetic map cues play a role in long-distance mi gration. fic, and (3) magnetic map cues play a role in long-distance mi