Monopterus Albus - Life History

Life History

Life History M. albus is an evasive nocturnal animal (Source). Its diet includes other fish, shrimp, crayfish, frogs, turtle eggs, aquatic invertebrates like worms and insects, and occasionally detritus. Unlike the traits of its diurnal counterparts, M. albus life history traits (e.g. absolute density and survival) are difficult to accurately measure and can require decades of data to detect trends, as expressed by the lack of data available on the topic. This results in an increase in the population of the invasive species without adequate time for population control methods.

The Asian swamp eel has versatile motility and is even capable of moving over dry land for short distances. This behavior is used for relocation according to resource availability. In the absence of water and food, the Asian swamp eel is able to survive long periods of drought by burrowing in moist earth(link). If its home becomes unsuitable, M. albus simply crawls ashore and makes its way to a more suitable home by slithering over the land in a snake-like fashion. These characteristics enhance the ability of M. albus to disperse widely. The swamp eel is a voracious general predator, making it a threat to native fishes, amphibians, and aquatic invertebrates.

The survivorship of a species or cohort can be found by calculating the number or proportion of individuals surviving at each age. Type I survivorship is characterized by high survival in early and middle life, followed by a rapid decline in survivorship in later life because of physiological changes. Type II survivorship exhibits a constant mortality rate regardless of age because of consistent environmental threats. M. albus survivorship falls between Type I, physiological, and Type II, ecological. They exhibit a great deal of parental care, indicative of physiological survivorship. Large males construct bubble nests at the mouth of burrows and guard the eggs and young. Additionally, eel populations are dependant upon resource abundance, making their survivorship partially ecological. Because of the aforesaid behaviors, removal of the invasive species might be best achieved in the juvenile stage or immediately after spawning, when parental care is at its highest.