Otoliths as individual indicators:a reappraisal of the link between fish physiology and otolith characteristics

Otoliths are remarkable recorders that store visual and chemical information that can be interpreted with regard to individual fish phenotype trajectory, life history events and environment. However, the information stored in the otoliths must be interpreted with the knowledge that the otolith is an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine and Freshwater Research
Main Author: Gronkjaer, Peter
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2016
Subjects:
environment
genotype
metabolism
opaque and translucent zones
stable isotopes
viability
COD GADUS-MORHUA
RESTING METABOLIC-RATE
ATLANTIC SALMON PARR
NORTH-SEA COD
ANNULUS FORMATION
MARINE FISHES
INTRASPECIFIC VARIATION
POPULATION DIFFERENCES
HEMOGLOBIN GENOTYPES
ELEMENTAL CHEMISTRY
Atlantic salmon
Gadus morhua
Online Access:https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/otoliths-as-individual-indicators(93f0047c-8cd1-4c99-80f6-99d3e495f43c).html
https://doi.org/10.1071/MF15155
Description
Summary:Otoliths are remarkable recorders that store visual and chemical information that can be interpreted with regard to individual fish phenotype trajectory, life history events and environment. However, the information stored in the otoliths must be interpreted with the knowledge that the otolith is an integral part of fish sensory systems. This means that the environmental signals recorded in the otoliths will be regulated by the homeostatic apparatus of the individual fish - its physiology and ultimately its genetic make-up. Although this may complicate interpretation of environmental signals, it also opens up avenues for new research into the physiology and life history of individual fish. This review focuses on research areas where the coupling between otolith characteristics and fish physiology may yield new insights. Most of the research ideas are by no means new, but rather represent largely forgotten or less-explored research areas. Examples of questions that are fundamental, unanswered and with the potential to yield significant new insights are those related to the coupling of otolith and fish growth through metabolism, and the formation of opaque and translucent growth zones in relation to the physiology of the individual. An integration of visual and chemical data with bioenergetic modelling may yield some of the answers.

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