The American Eel (Anguilla rostrata)

Anguilla rostrata or the American Eel is a catadromous fish found on North America’s Atlantic coast (Nikolic et al., 2019). The Anguilla rostrata is listed as an endangered species, the number of eels in Lake Ontario has decreased from 935,000 in 1985 to 8,000 in 1993 and almost reached zero levels in 2001(American Eel., 2013). With the number of Anguilla rostrata reduced over the past four decades, this will heavily impact the genetic biodiversity of the species and as a keystone species in Lake Ontario, it will affect the community structure and its ecosystem. This severely affects the biodiversity and ecosystem of Lake Ontario, which could cause severe effects on our economy and other social impacts.