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Diel and seasonal feeding activity of the short-finned eel, Anguilla australis schmidtii, in Lake Ellesmere, Canterbury, New Zealand

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Synopsis

Eel samples from Lake Ellesmere, a brackish water lake in the South Island, New Zealand, were taken at approximately monthly intervals from January 1974 to April 1976. Nets were set for 24 h and emptied every three hours. Total lengths and stomach fullness values of 498 eels were recorded. Analysis using the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test showed that eels ⩽40 cm and 40.1–50 cm in length increased in fullness through the night with greatest fullness values at 0300 and 0600 h. Seasonal analyses revealed greatest eel activity in spring, summer and autumn. There was little eel activity in winter.

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Ryan, P.A. Diel and seasonal feeding activity of the short-finned eel, Anguilla australis schmidtii, in Lake Ellesmere, Canterbury, New Zealand. Environ Biol Fish 11, 229–234 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00000467

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