Modeling of the migration of the European glass eel

Abstract

The characteristics of glass eel migration at the mouth of river Bojana have been investigated by seasonal field studies from February to April 1998. Samples were collected by two fyke nets, one on each riverside, for 12 hours each night. A total of about 3,300 individuals were caught. In this work we present the results obtained from three successive migration waves in 1998. The data obtained on the number of eels caught during one migration wave, as a function of time, had two components: a bell-shaped curve, lasting 7-14 days, over which an impulse (sudden burst in the number of caught eels, during 1-2 days) was observed. We propose a mathematical model for total number of captured eels within one migration wave. Impulse components were observed during the first and second migration waves. After their removal, the remaining experimental data of the three migration waves were fitted with normal distribution functions. A decrease in the values of fitting parameters as a function of time (migration wave number) was obtained. Our data indicate multiple causes for the observed migration waves.