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Otolith Sr (otolith + sr)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Earth and Environmental Science100%

Selected Abstracts

Relative contributions from exposed inshore and estuarine nursery grounds to the recruitment of stone flounder, Platichthys bicoloratus, estimated using otolith Sr:Ca ratios

FISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2000
Yoh Yamashita
In Sendai Bay, stone flounder larvae settle and spend their juvenile period in either shallow exposed inshore nursery grounds or estuarine nursery grounds. The purpose of this study is to examine the relative contributions of these two kinds of nursery grounds to the flounder population using otolith strontium:calcium ratios. Stone flounder juveniles were collected from both nursery grounds, and one- and two-year-old flounder were caught deeper in Sendai Bay. Sr and Ca content in the otoliths were measured by electron probe micro analysis. The Sr:Ca ratios in the otolith section corresponding to the early postsettlement period ranged from 3.06 to 3.85 for the exposed inshore areas with stable low temperature and high salinity conditions, and from 3.81 to 5.32 in brackish estuaries with high temperature and low salinity conditions but with large diel and tidal cyclical fluctuations. Values from an estuarine site with stable salinity ranged from 3.58 to 4.15 overlapping with both the above ranges. Rearing experiments supported our inference that the high otolith Sr:Ca ratios of juveniles inhabiting estuarine nursery grounds are attributable to higher temperature and physiological stress caused by the large diel temperature and salinity fluctuations within the estuaries. Estimation of the Sr:Ca ratio of recruited fish using the otolith section formed while in the nursery area showed that at least 20 out of 42 individuals examined originated from estuarine nursery grounds. The present study indicates that estuaries play an important role as nursery grounds for stone flounder, producing about half of the stock in spite of the small and restricted area compared with the wide expanse of the exposed inshore area. [source]

Ecological niche specialization inferred from morphological variation and otolith strontium of Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus L. found within open lake systems of southern Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2009
T. N. Loewen
The presence of two morphotypes of Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus was confirmed via morphological variation and otolith strontium (Sr) within three open-lake systems of southern Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada: Qinngu (LH001), Iqalugaarjuit Lake (PG082) and Qasigiat (PG015). Analysis of otolith Sr indicates that a component of each S. alpinus population within lakes LH001 and PG082 is migratory (large,maturing S. alpinus), whereas another component is lake-resident (small,maturing S. alpinus). Alternatively, small and large maturing S. alpinus may both inhabit tidal habitats during their lifetime in lake PG015. Three morphological characters were identified by principal factor analysis (PFA) as characters that were different between maturity groups for all lakes studied: eye diameter, pectoral fin length and pelvic fin length. As well, upper jaw length (LH001 and PG082) and fork depth (PG015) were identified in PFA as traits that differed between morphs. Univariate tests of morphological characters identified by PFA demonstrated maturity group differences with the exception of eye diameter in Lake PG015 and upper jaw length and pelvic fin length in lake LH001. No difference was found in the MANOVA test of upper and lower gill raker number between small,maturing and undeveloped fish within all lakes studied. Clear morphological variation observed between small,maturing and undeveloped fish in all three lakes of the study suggests ecological niche separation between morphotypes. This is the first documented case of lake-resident S. alpinus use of the tidal habitat in the presence of a migratory large,maturing morphotype. [source]

Identifying migratory contingents of fish by combining otolith Sr:Ca with temporal collections of ambient Sr:Ca concentrations

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2006
T. S. Elsdon
Ambient strontium:calcium (Sr:Ca) concentrations were determined at the temporal scales of months, weeks and days, in summer and winter at two estuarine sites, and experimentally derived correlations between ambient and otolith Sr:Ca were used to estimate the otolith Sr:Ca concentrations of ,resident' black bream Acanthopagrus butcheri. Wild black bream were collected in summer and winter at the end of the temporal water sampling, and their otolith Sr:Ca concentrations were examined. Wild fish were classified as ,resident' if their otolith Sr:Ca matched the predicted concentrations of resident fish, and ,migrant' if this did not occur. In winter, all fish were classified as resident. In summer, all fish were classified as migrants, with fish spending an average of only 16·8% (estuary 1) and 61·1% (estuary 2) of their time at each estuarine location. [source]