Fairmount Water Works – Discover. Connect. Act.
Fairmount Water Works – Discover. Connect. Act.
The American eel is found throughout the eastern coast of North America. It has a slender snakelike body that is covered with a slimy mucous layer. They vary in color from olive green to brown or brown-yellow, with light gray or white bellies.
The eel lives in fresh water river systems and estuaries, and only leaves these habitats for spawning. At this point in their lives, they swim downstream into the Atlantic Ocean and migrate south to the Sargasso Sea. The female eel can lay up to 4 million eggs, after which she dies. After the eggs hatch and the early-stage larvae develop, the young eels move toward North America where they metamorphose into small, almost transparent "glass eels" and enter freshwater systems, where they grow as "yellow eels"
American eels hunt at night, and hide in mud, sand or gravel very close to shore during the day. These carnivores feed on a diverse assortment of crustaceans, aquatic insects, small insects, and any other aquatic organisms that they can find. In turn, the eel—especially in its early stages—provides food for predatory fish and birds of prey, including ospreys and bald eagles, wading birds, and mammals, as well as humans.
Fairmount Water Works – Discover. Connect. Act.
Fairmount Water Works – Discover. Connect. Act.