Shedding light on fish otolith biomineralization using a bioenergetic approach

• Published in: PLoS ONE
• Main Authors: Fablet, Ronan, Pecquerie, Laure, de Pontual, Hélène, Hoie, Hans, Mosegaard, Henrik, Millner, Richard, Kooijman, Samuel A.L.M.
• Other Authors: Lab-STICC_TB_CID_TOMS, Laboratoire des sciences et techniques de l'information, de la communication et de la connaissance (Lab-STICC), Université européenne de Bretagne - European University of Brittany (UEB)-École Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Brest (ENIB)-Université de Bretagne Sud (UBS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Télécom Bretagne-Institut Brestois du Numérique et des Mathématiques (IBNM), Université de Brest (UBO)-École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées Bretagne (ENSTA Bretagne)-Institut Mines-Télécom Paris (IMT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université européenne de Bretagne - European University of Brittany (UEB)-École Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Brest (ENIB)-Université de Bretagne Sud (UBS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Télécom Bretagne-Institut Brestois du Numérique et des Mathématiques (IBNM), Université de Brest (UBO)-École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées Bretagne (ENSTA Bretagne)-Institut Mines-Télécom Paris (IMT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Département Signal et Communications (SC), Université européenne de Bretagne - European University of Brittany (UEB)-Télécom Bretagne-Institut Mines-Télécom Paris (IMT), University of California Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara), University of California (UC), Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), University of Bergen (UiB), Danish Technical University (.), Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Weymouth (CEFAS), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Amsterdam (VU)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2011
• Subjects: [SPI.SIGNAL]Engineering Sciences [physics]/Signal and Image processing; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01196912; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0027055

International audience Otoliths are biocalcified bodies connected to the sensory system in the inner ears of fish. Their layered, biorhythm-following formation provides individual records of the age, the individual history and the natural environment of extinct and living fish species. Such data are critical for ecosystem and fisheries monitoring. They however often lack validation and the poor understanding of biomineralization mechanisms has led to striking examples of misinterpretations and subsequent erroneous conclusions in fish ecology and fisheries management. Here we develop and validate a numerical model of otolith biomineralization. Based on a general bioenergetic theory, it disentangles the complex interplay between metabolic and temperature effects on biomineralization. This model resolves controversial issues and explains poorly understood observations of otolith formation. It represents a unique simulation tool to improve otolith interpretation and applications, and, beyond, to address the effects of both climate change and ocean acidification on other biomineralizing organisms such as corals and bivalves.