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Full-Text Articles in Fresh Water Studies

Accurate Classification Of Juvenile Weakfish Cynoscion Regalis To Estuarine Nursery Areas Based On Chemical Signatures In Otoliths, Simon R. Thorrold, Cynthia M. Jones, Peter K. Swart, Timothy E. Targett Nov 1998

Accurate Classification Of Juvenile Weakfish Cynoscion Regalis To Estuarine Nursery Areas Based On Chemical Signatures In Otoliths, Simon R. Thorrold, Cynthia M. Jones, Peter K. Swart, Timothy E. Targett

OES Faculty Publications

We investigated the ability of trace element and isotopic signatures in otoliths to record the nursery areas of juvenile (young-of-the-year) weakfish Cynoscion regalis from the east coast of the USA. Juvenile C. regalis were captured with otter trawls at multiple sites in Doboy Sound (Georgia), Pamlico Sound (North Carolina), Chesapeake Bay (Virginia), Delaware Bay (Delaware) and Peconic Bay (New York), from July to September 1996. One sagittal otolith from each specimen was assayed for Mg/Ca, Mn/Ca, Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), while delta 13 C and delta 18 O values from the other sagittal …


Trace Element Signatures In Otoliths Record Natal River Of Juvenile American Shad (Alosa Sapidissima), Simon R. Thorrold, Cynthia M. Jones, Steven E. Campana, James W. Mclaren, Joseph W. H. Lam Jan 1998

Trace Element Signatures In Otoliths Record Natal River Of Juvenile American Shad (Alosa Sapidissima), Simon R. Thorrold, Cynthia M. Jones, Steven E. Campana, James W. Mclaren, Joseph W. H. Lam

OES Faculty Publications

The elemental composition of fish otoliths may represent a permanent record of the environmental conditions an individual has experienced as trace elements, incorporated into the growing surface of the otolith, reflect the physical and chemical characteristics of the ambient water. We tested the utility of trace element signatures in otoliths as natural tags of the river of origin of juvenile American shad (Alosa sapidissima) collected from the Connecticut, Hudson and Delaware Rivers in August and October 1994. Four elements (K, Mn, Sr, and Ba) showed significant variability among sites within rivers in August, although only Mg showed a …