Meeting Abstract
Anguilliform fishes, also known as “True eels” are diadromous. While most stay in marine water throughout their whole migration loop, some transition from saltwater to freshwater (anadromy) and some migrate from freshwater to saltwater (catadromy). In order to understand the evolution of diadromy we searched for published anguilliform phylogenies, compiled them into one tree, and mapped the diadromous trait across the 258 species (or other higher taxonomic groups) represented by the new supertree. The intent of the research was to understand where the ability to cross salinity barriers in migration might have come from; whether the trait had a single origin, or if it evolved in several places along the ancestry of eels. We investigated the pattern and timing of the evolution of diadromy and report on independent evolution of catadromy and diadromy, rates of transition between states for time-calibrated branches of the supertree, and ecological and geographic correlates of different diadromous character states.
