Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

CS14 Fish and Fisheries: Environmental Quality and Ecology

Date: Thursday, February 15, 2001, Time: 3:45:00 PM

Location: Sandia/Santa Ana

Bath Martin, G, , NOAA/NOS/Center for Coastal Ocean Research, Beaufort, USA, Gretchen.Bath@noaa.gov

Thorrold, S, R, Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, USA, sthorrol@odu.edu

Jones, C, M, Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, USA, cjones@odu.edu

USING SR/CA RATIOS IN OTOLITHS TO RECONSTRUCT TEMPERATURE HISTORIES OF MARINE FISH LARVAE

The temperature dependence of Sr/Ca ratios in foraminiferal calcite and coral aragonite is well established. However, the factors controlling Sr/Ca ratios in fish otoliths (ear stones) remain obscure. We report the results of two experiments designed to determine the influence of water chemistry and temperature on Sr/Ca ratios in the otoliths of Leiostomus xanthurus, an estuarine-dependent marine fish. In the first experiment, larvae were raised under controlled conditions in which we manipulated Sr/Ca ratios in the tank waters at two temperatures (20 and 25C). These data confirmed that Sr/Ca ratios in otoliths were a function of Sr/Ca ratios in seawater, with significant temperature dependence. In a second experiment, L. xanthurus larvae were reared under four temperature treatments to more accurately assess the temperature dependence of Sr/Ca partition coefficients in otoliths. We conclude that with adequate validation, it may be possible to trace dispersal pathways of marine fish larvae from probe-based analyses of Sr/Ca ratios in otoliths.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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