Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Otolith Chemistry Reflects Frontal Systems In The Antarctic Circumpolar Current, J. R. Ashford, A. I. Arkhipkin, C. M. Jones

OES Faculty Publications

Pronounced environmental trends across fronts suggest that the otolith chemistry of oceanic fish can resolve zones on either side, promoting application to population questions at similar spatial scales. Trace and minor elements laid down immediately prior to capture - along the edges of otoliths from Patagonian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides - discriminated frontal zones in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Mean values differentiated sampling areas by up to 2.6 standard deviations, suggesting: (1) otolith Mg/Ca enrichment related to fish activity around the Burdwood Bank; (2) Mn/Ca enrichment associated with South America; (3) Sr/Ca linked to the presence …