The use of photo-identification for moray eel monitoring

Recent studies highlighted that the moray eel contribution to ecosystems might be underestimated. Due to the difficulties in monitoring these species, their abundance is often miscalculated, and their contribution to ecosystems deemed low. Moray eels spend most of their daytime in crevices, challenging any study of these species. In this study, I determined the long-term viability of a standardized photo-identification protocol on the moray eel Gymnothorax moringa. Results showed that photo-identification could be used up to 176 days. The low rate of change in characteristic marks used (2.4%) suggests that the protocol could be used for a more extended period to monitor moray eels. This protocol highlighted some hypotheses on the habitat use-related behavior of moray eels. The protocol can be used for density or behavior studies on this species.