Research article2000Peer reviewed
Complex life histories of fishes revealed through natural information storage devices: case studies of diadromous events as recorded by otoliths
Elfman, Mikael; Limburg, K E; Kristiansson, P.; Svedäng, Henrik; Westin, L.; Wickström, H.; Malmqvist, K.; Pallon, Jan
Abstract
Diadromous fishes - species that move across salinity gradients as part of their life repertoire - form a major part of coastal and inland fisheries. Conventional mark-recapture techniques have long been used to track their movements, but give incomplete information at best. On the other hand, otoliths (ear-stones) of fishes can provide a complete record of major life history events, as reflected both in their microstructure and elemental composition. Strontium, which substitutes for calcium in the aragonite matrix of otoliths, is a powerful tracer of salinity histories in many migratory fishes. We measured Sr and Ca with a nuclear microprobe (PIXE) and show examples (eel, Anguilla anguilla; brown trout, Salmo trutta; American shad, Alosa sapidissima) of how the technique has solved several mysteries within fisheries biology. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords
otolith; PIXE; nuclear microprobe
Published in
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms
2000, Volume: 161-163, pages: 877-881 Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
UKÄ Subject classification
Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
Evolutionary Biology
Accelerator Physics and Instrumentation
Publication identifier
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-583X(99)00923-4
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/42032