American Eel

Panmictic

Panmictic refers to a random mating strategy, frequently employed by fish, where breeding is just as likely to occur between any two individuals in a population as between any two others.  Mating in this way is not influenced by any any environmental (e.g., geographic proximity), hereditary (e.g., timing of spawning), or social interaction (e.g., polygamous mating … [Read more…]

Catadromous

A catadromous fish hatches and spawns in salt water but spends most of its life in fresh water.  Catadromous life cycles are much less common than anadromous life cycles.  American and European Eels (Anguilla rostrate and A. anguilla, respectively) are among the more famous fish that utilize this unusual migration pattern.  They have a highly … [Read more…]