Differences in odor preferences of glass eels of two sympatric anguillid eels, the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica and the Indo-Pacificeel A. marmorata

Water-choice experiments were conducted using glass eels of Anguilla japonica and A. marmorata, which coexist in subtropical East Asian rivers. The results of the present study, together with those of previous water-choice experiments, suggest that salinity enhances the odor preferences of glass eels. Compared to A. marmorata glass eels, A. japonica glass eels were more strongly attracted to water collected from a leaf detritus-accumulating backwater area than to normal river water under the same salinity conditions. These results suggest that interspecific differences in odor preferences may facilitate their habitat segregation.