Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T06:49:49.122Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Otolith chemistry to determine movements of diadromousand freshwater fish

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 November 2005

Bronwyn M. Gillanders
Bronwyn M. Gillanders*
Affiliation:
Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Darling Building DP 418, University of Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
*
[email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Determining the timing or frequency of movement of fish and the relative importance of different habitats is difficult. Advances in otolith chemical techniques and interpretations (including elemental ratios and stable isotopes) suggest that this is a powerful method for determining movement of fish. To date, the majority of applications have involved marine fish, however, otolith chemistry has the potential to determine movements of diadromous and freshwater fish; I therefore review freshwater applications of otolith chemistry in this paper. Despite some limitations regarding strontium:calcium (Sr:Ca) ratios (e.g. Sr concentration of the water is not always measured, Sr:Ca ratios in freshwater can exceed marine waters, and mixed results for the relationship between otolith Sr and salinity), they have been widely used for a variety of applications involving diadromous species and more recently freshwater fish. In addition, barium:calcium (Ba:Ca) ratios have recently been used to determine movements of diadromous and estuarine species, as ambient ratios are possibly linked to environmental flows. Several studies have also investigated the use of multielemental otolith composition to discriminate between groups of fish collected from different lake or river systems, but a wider range of applications are possible. Several applications of Sr isotopes have also been investigated, most of which is focused on salmonids (e.g. distinguishing fish from different river systems, determining movement history of individual fish). Relatively few studies have investigated the use of other isotopes (e.g. oxygen, sulphur) for determining movements. Otolith elemental ratios and stable isotopes have great potential to determine movements of freshwater species, with possible applications likely to increase as analytical technology improves.

Keywords

Otolith chemistryFishTrace elementSr isotopesSr:CaFreshwaterDiadromousFlowReview
Type
Research Article
Information
Aquatic Living Resources , Volume 18 , Issue 3 , July 2005 , pp. 291 - 300
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD, 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alibert, C., Kinsley, L., Fallon, S.J., McCulloch, M.T., Berkelmans, R., McAllister, F., 2003, Source of trace element variability in Great Barrier Reef corals affected by the Burdekin flood plumes. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 67, 231-246. CrossRef
Allen G.R., Midgley S.H., Allen M., 2002, Field guide to freshwater fishes of Australia. Western Australian Museum, Perth.
Arai, T., Goto, A., Miyazaki, N., 2003a, Use of otolith microchemistry to estimate the migratory history of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. UK 83, 223-230.
Arai, T., Hayano, H., Asami, H., Miyazaki, N., 2003b, Coexistence of anadromous and lacustrine life histories of the shirauo, Salangichthys microdon. Fish. Oceanogr. 12, 134-139. CrossRef
Arai, T., Limbong, D., Otake, T., Tsukamoto, K., 1999, Metamorphosis and inshore migration of tropical eels Anguilla spp. in the Indo-Pacific. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 182, 283-293. CrossRef
Babaluk, J. A., Campbell, J. L., Evans, C. L., Halden, N. M., Mejia, S. R., Nejedly, Z., Reist, J.D., Teesdale, W. J., 2002, Micro-PIXE analysis of strontium in Arctic char, Salvelinus alpinus, otoliths from Quttinirpaaq National Park, Nunavut, Canada. Nuclear Instruments Methods Physics Res. B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 189, 190-195. CrossRef
Bath, G.E., Thorrold, S.R., Jones, C.M., Campana, S.E., McLaren, J.W., Lam, J.W.H., 2000, Strontium and barium uptake in aragonitic otoliths of marine fish. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 64, 1705-1714. CrossRef
Brazner, J.C., Campana, S.E., Tanner, D.K., 2004, Habitat fingerprints for Lake Superior coastal wetlands derived from elemental analysis of yellow perch otoliths. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 133, 692-704. CrossRef
Bronte, C.R., Hesselberg, R.J., Shoesmith, J.A., Hoff, M.H., 1996, Discrimination among spawning concentrations of Lake Superior lake herring based on trace element profiles in sagittae. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 125, 852-859. 2.3.CO;2>CrossRef
Campana, S.E., 1999, Chemistry and composition of fish otoliths: Pathways, mechanisms and applications. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 188, 263-297. CrossRef
Campana, S.E., Chouinard, G.A., Hanson, J.M., Frechet, A., Brattey, J., 2000, Otolith elemental fingerprints as biological tracers of fish stocks. Fish. Res. 46, 343-357. CrossRef
Chang, C.W., Iizuka, Y., Tzeng, W.N., 2004, Migratory environmental history of the grey mullet Mugil cephalus as revealed by otolith Sr:Ca ratios. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 269, 277-288. CrossRef
Chesney, E.J., McKee, B.M., Blanchard, T., Chan, L.-H., 1998, Chemistry of otoliths from juvenile menhaden Brevoortia patronus: Evaluating strontium, strontium:calcium and strontium isotope ratios as environmental indicators. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 171, 261-273. CrossRef
Closs, G.P., Smith, M., Barry, B., Markwitz, A., 2003, Non-diadromous recruitment in coastal populations of common bully (Gobiomorphus cotidianus). N.Z. J. Mar. Freshw. Res. 37, 301-313. CrossRef
Coffey, M., Dehairs, F., Collette, O., Luther, G., Church, T., Jickells, T., 1997, The behaviour of dissolved barium in estuaries. Est. Coast. Shelf Sci. 45, 113-121. CrossRef
David B., Chadderton L., Closs G., Barry B., Markwitz A., 2004, Evidence of flexible recruitment strategies in coastal populations of giant kokopu (Galaxias argenteus), pp. 23, Department of Conservation, Wellington.
de Villiers, S., 1999, Seawater strontium and Sr/Ca variability in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 171, 623-634. CrossRef
Douglas, G.B., Gray, C.M., Hart, B.T., Beckett, R., 1995, A strontium isotopic investigation of the origin of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the Murray-Darling River system, Australia. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 59, 3799-3815. CrossRef
Elsdon, T.E., Gillanders, B.M., 2002, Interactive effects of temperature and salinity on otolith chemistry: Challenges for determining environmental histories of fish. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 59, 1796-1808. CrossRef
Elsdon, T.E., Gillanders, B.M., 2003, Relationship between water and otolith elemental concentrations in juvenile black bream Acanthopagrus butcheri. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 260, 263-272. CrossRef
Elsdon, T.E., Gillanders, B.M., 2004, Fish otolith chemistry influenced by exposure to multiple environmental variables. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 313, 269-284. CrossRef
Elsdon, T.E., Gillanders, B.M., 2005, Alternative life-history patterns of estuarine fish: Barium in otoliths elucidates freshwater residency. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 62, 1143-4452. CrossRef
Fowler, A.J., Campana, S.E., Jones, C.M., Thorrold, S.R., 1995, Experimental assessment of the effect of temperature and salinity on elemental composition of otoliths using solution-based ICPMS. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 52, 1421-1430. CrossRef
Gillanders, B.M., 2002, Connectivity between juvenile and adult fish populations: Do adults remain near their recruitment estuaries? Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 240, 215-223. CrossRef
Gillanders, B.M., Kingsford, M.J., 1996, Elements in otoliths may elucidate the contribution of estuarine recruitment to sustaining coastal reef populations of a temperate reef fish. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 141, 13-20. CrossRef
Gillanders, B.M., Ferrell, D.J., Andrew, N.L., 2001, Estimates of movement and life-history parameters of yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi): How useful are data from a cooperative tagging programme? Mar. Freshw. Res. 52, 179-192. CrossRef
Gillanders, B.M., 2005, Using elemental chemistry of fish otoliths to determine Connectivity between estuarine and coastal habitats. Est. Coast. Shelf Sci. 64, 47-57. CrossRef
Guay, C.K., Falkner, K.K., 1998, A survey of dissolved barium in the estuaries of major Arctic rivers and adjacent seas. Cont. Shelf Res. 18, 859-882. CrossRef
Hendy, E.J., Gagan, M.K., Alibert, C.A., McCulloch, M.T., Lough, J.M., Isdale, P.J., 2002, Abrupt decrease in tropical Pacific sea surface salinity at end of little ice age. Science 295, 1511-1514. CrossRef
Hesslein, R.H., Capel, M.J., Fox, D.E., Hallard, K.A., 1991, Stable isotopes of sulfur, carbon, and nitrogen as indicators of trophic level and fish migration in the Lower Mackenzie River basin, Canada. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 48, 2258-2265. CrossRef
Hoff, G.R., Fuiman, L.A., 1995, Environmentally induced variation in elemental composition of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) otoliths. Bull. Mar. Sci. 56, 578-591.
Howland, K.L., Tonn, W.M., Babaluk, J.A., Tallman, R.F., 2001, Identification of freshwater and anadromous inconnu in the Mackenzie River system by analysis of otolith strontium. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 130, 725-741. 2.0.CO;2>CrossRef
Ingram, B.L., Sloan, D., 1992, Strontium isotopic composition of estuarine sediments as paleosalinity-paleoclimate indicator. Science 255, 68-72. CrossRef
Ingram, B.L., Weber, P.K., 1999, Salmon origin in California's Sacramento-San Joaquin river system as determined by otolith strontium isotopic composition. Geology 27, 851-854. 2.3.CO;2>CrossRef
Jessop, B.M., Shiao, J.-C., Jizuka, Y., Tzeng, W.N., 2002, Migratory behaviour and habitat use by American eels Anguilla rostrata as revealed by otolith microchemistry. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 233, 217-229. CrossRef
Kafemann, R., Adlerstein, S., Neukamm, R., 2000, Variation in otolith strontium and calcium ratios as an indicator of life-history strategies of freshwater fish species within a brackish water system. Fish. Res. 46, 313-325. CrossRef
Kalish, J.M., 1990, Use of otolith microchemistry to distinguish the progeny of sympatric anadromous and non-anadromous salmonids. Fish. Bull. 88, 657-666.
Katayama, S., Radtke, R.L., Omori, M., Shafer, D.J., 2000, Coexistence of anadromous and resident life history styles of pond smelt, Hypomesus nipponensis, in Lake Ogawara, Japan, as determined by analyses of otolith structure and strontium: calcium ratios. Environ. Biol. Fish. 58, 195-201. CrossRef
Kawakami, Y., Mochioka, N., Morishita, K., Tajima, T., Nakagawa, H., Toh, H., Nakazono, A., 1998, Factors influencing otolith strontium/calcium ratios in Anguilla japonica elvers. Environ. Biol. Fish. 52, 299-303. CrossRef
Kennedy, B.P., Blum, J.D., Folt, C.L., Nislow, K.H., 2000, Using natural strontium isotopic signatures as fish markers: Methodology and application. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 57, 2280-2292. CrossRef
Kennedy, B.P., Folt, C.L., Blum, J.D., Chamberlain, C.P., 1997, Natural isotope markers in salmon. Nature 387, 766-767. CrossRef
Kennedy, B.P., Klaue, A., Blum, J.D., Folt, C.L., Nislow, K.H., 2002, Reconstructing the lives of fish using Sr isotopes in otoliths. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 59, 925-929. CrossRef
Kimura, R., Secor, D.H., Houde, E.D., Piccoli, P.M., 2000, Up-estuary dispersal of young-of-the-year bay anchovy Anchoa mitchilli in the Chesapeake Bay: Inferences from microprobe analysis of strontium in otoliths. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 208, 217-227. CrossRef
Kotake, A., Arai, T., Ohji, M., Yamane, S., Miyazaki, N., Tsukamoto, K., 2004, Application of otolith microchemistry to estimate the migratory history of Japanese eel Anguilla japonica on the Sanriku coast of Japan. J. Appl. Ichthyol. 20, 150-153. CrossRef
Kotake, A., Arai, T., Ozawa, T., Nojima, S., Miller, M.J., Tsukamoto, K., 2003, Variation in migratory history of Japanese eels, Anguilla japonica, collected in coastal waters of the Amakusa Islands, Japan, inferred from otolith Sr/Ca ratios. Mar. Biol. 142, 849-854. CrossRef
Kraus, R.T., Secor, D.H., 2004, Incorporation of strontium into otoliths of an estuarine fish. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 302, 85-106. CrossRef
Li, Y.-H., Chan, L.-H., 1979, Desorption of Ba and 226Ra from river-borne sediments in the Hudson estuary. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 43, 343-350. CrossRef
Limburg, K.E., 1995, Otolith strontium traces environmental history of subyearling American shad Alosa sapidissima. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 119, 25-35. CrossRef
Limburg, K.E., 1998, Anomalous migrations of anadromous herrings revealed with natural chemical tracers. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 55, 431-437. CrossRef
Martin, G.B., Thorrold, S.R., Jones, C.M., 2004, Temperature and salinity effects on strontium incorporation in otoliths of larval spot (Leiostomus xanthurus). Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 61, 34-42. CrossRef
McCulloch, M., Fallon, S., Wyndham, T., Hendy, E., Lough, J., Barnes, D., 2003, Coral record of increased sediment flux to the inner Great Barrier Reef since European settlement. Nature 421, 727-730. CrossRef
McDowall R.M., 1988, Diadromy in fishes. Migrations between freshwater and marine environments. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon.
Milton, D.A., Chenery, S.P., 2001, Sources and uptake of trace metals in otoliths of juvenile barramundi (Lates calcarifer). J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 264, 47-65. CrossRef
Milton, D.A., Chenery, S.R., 2003, Movement patterns of the tropical shad hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) inferred from transects of 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios in their otoliths. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 60, 1376-1385. CrossRef
Milton, D.A., Tenakanai, C.D., Chenery, S.R., 2000, Can the movements of barramundi in the Fly river region, Papua New Guinea be traced in their otoliths? Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 50, 855-868. CrossRef
Morris, J.A., Rulifson, R.A., Toburen, L.H., 2003, Life history strategies of striped bass, Morone saxatilis, populations inferred from otolith microchemistry. Fish. Res. 62, 53-63. CrossRef
Munro, A.R., McMahon, T.E., Ruzycki, J.R., 2005, Natural chemical markers identify source and date of introduction of an exotic species: Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in Yellowstone Lake. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 62, 79-87. CrossRef
Nelson, C.S., Northcote, T.G., Hendy, C.H., 1989, Potential use of oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of otoliths to identify migratory and non-migratory stocks of the New Zealand common smelt: A pilot study. N.Z. J. Mar. Freshw. Res. 23, 337-344. CrossRef
Northcote, T.G., 1997, Potamodromy in Salmonidae - living and moving in the fast lane. N. Am. J. Fish. Manage. 17, 1029-1045. 2.3.CO;2>CrossRef
Northcote, T.G., Hendy, C.H., Nelson, C.S., Boubee, J.A.T., 1992, Tests for migratory history of the New Zealand common smelt (Retropinna retropinna (Richardson)) using otolith isotopic composition. Ecol. Freshw. Fish 1, 61-72. CrossRef
Otake, T., Ishii, T., Nakahara, M., Nakamura, R., 1994, Drastic changes in otolith strontium/calcium ratios in leptocephali and glass eels of Japanese eel Anguilla japonica. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 112, 189-193. CrossRef
Palmer, M.R., Edmond, J.M., 1992, Controls over the strontium isotope composition of river water. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 56, 2099-2111. CrossRef
Pender, P.J., Griffin, R.K., 1996, Habitat history of barramundi Lates calcarifer in a North Australian river system based on barium and strontium levels in scales. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 125, 679-689. 2.3.CO;2>CrossRef
Peterson, B.J., Fry, B., 1987, Stable isotopes in ecosystem studies. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 18, 293-320. CrossRef
Pittman, S.J., McAlpine, C.A., 2003, Movements of marine fish and decapod crustaceans: Process, theory and application. Adv. Mar. Biol. 44, 205-294. CrossRef
Radtke, R.L., Kinzie, R.A., 1996, Evidence of a marine larval stage in endemic Hawaiian stream gobies from isolated high-elevation locations. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 125, 613-621. 2.3.CO;2>CrossRef
Radtke, R.L., Kinzie, R.A., Folsom, S.D., 1988, Age at recruitment of Hawaiian freshwater gobies. Environ. Biol. Fish. 23, 205-213. CrossRef
Reynolds, L.F., 1983, Migration patterns of five fish species in the Murray-Darling river system. Aust. J. Mar. Freshw. Res. 34, 857-871. CrossRef
Rieman, B.E., Myers, D.L., Nielson, R.L., 1994, Use of otolith microchemistry to discriminate Oncorhynchus nerka of resident and anadromous origin. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 51, 68-77. CrossRef
Rohling, E.J., Bigg, G.R., 1998, Paleosalinity and delta-O-18 - a critical assessment. J. Geophys. Res. 103, 1307-1318. CrossRef
Rooker, J.R., Kraus, R.T., Secor, D.H., 2004, Dispersive behaviors of black drum and red drum: Is otolith Sr:Ca a reliable indicator of salinity history? Estuaries 27, 334-341. CrossRef
Secor, D.H., 1992, Application of otolith microchemistry analysis to investigate anadromy in Chesapeake Bay striped bass Morone saxatilis. Fish. Bull. 90, 798-806.
Secor, D.H., Henderson-Arzapalo, A., Piccoli, P.M., 1995, Can otolith microchemistry chart patterns of migration and habitat utilization in anadromous fishes? J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 192, 15-33. CrossRef
Secor, D.H., Piccoli, P.M., 1996, Age- and sex-dependent migrations of striped bass in the Hudson River as determined by chemical microanalysis of otoliths. Estuaries 19, 778-793. CrossRef
Secor, D.H., Rooker, J.R., 2000, Is otolith strontium a useful scalar of life cycles in estuarine fishes? Fish. Res. 46, 359-371.
Shiao, J.C., Iizuka, Y., Chang, C.W., Tzeng, W.N., 2003, Disparities in habitat use and migratory behavior between tropical eel Anguilla marmorata and temperate eel A. japonica in four Taiwanese rivers. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 261, 233-242. CrossRef
Thorrold, S.R., Jones, C.M., Campana, S.E., McLaren, J.W., Lam, J.W.H., 1998, Trace element signatures in otoliths record natal river of juvenile American shad (Alosa sapidissima). Limnol. Oceanogr. 43, 1826-1835. CrossRef
Thorrold, S.R., Latkoczy, C., Swart, P.K., Jones, C.M., 2001, Natal homing in a marine fish metapopulation. Science 291, 297-299. CrossRef
Tsukamoto, K., Arai, T., 2001, Facultative catadromy of the eel Anguilla japonica between freshwater and seawater habitats. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 220, 265-276. CrossRef
Tsukamoto, K., Nakai, I., Tesch, W.-V., 1998, Do all freshwater eels migrate? Nature 396, 635-636. CrossRef
Turner, D.R., Whitfield, M., Dickson, A.G., 1981, The equilibrium speciation of dissolved components in freshwater and seawater at 25 $^{\circ}$ C and 1 atm pressure. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 45, 855-881. CrossRef
Tzeng, W.-N., 1996, Effects of salinity and ontogenetic movements on strontium:calcium ratios in the otoliths of the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica Temminck and Schlegel. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 199, 111-122. CrossRef
Tzeng, W.N., Iizuka, Y., Shiao, J.C., Yamada, Y., Oka, H.P., 2003, Identification and growth rates comparison of divergent migratory contingents of Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica). Aquaculture 216, 77-86. CrossRef
Tzeng, W.N., Severin, K.P., Wickstrom, H., 1997, Use of otolith microchemistry to investigate the environmental history of European eel Anguilla anguilla. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 149, 73-81. CrossRef
Tzeng, W.N., Shiao, J.C., Iizuka, Y., 2002, Use of otolith Sr:Ca ratios to study the riverine migratory behaviors of Japanese eel Anguilla japonica. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 245, 213-221. CrossRef
Volk, E.C., Blakley, A., Schroder, S.L., Kuehner, S.M., 2000, Otolith chemistry reflects migratory characteristics of Pacific salmonids: Using otolith core chemistry to distinguish maternal associations with sea and freshwaters. Fish. Res. 46, 251-266. CrossRef
Waight, T., Backer, J., Peate, D., 2002, Sr isotope ratio measurements by double-focusing MC-ICPMS: techniques, observations and pitfalls. Int. J. Mass Spectrom. 221, 229-244. CrossRef
Weber, P.K., Hutcheon, I.D., McKeegan, K.D., Ingram, B.L., 2002, Otolith sulfur isotope method to reconstruct salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) life history. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 59, 587-591. CrossRef
Wells, B.K., Bath, G.E., Thorrold, S.R., Jones, C.M., 2000, Incorporation of strontium, cadmium, and barium in juvenile spot (Leiostomus xanthurus) scales reflects water chemistry. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 57, 2122-2129. CrossRef
Wells, B.K., Rieman, B.E., Clayton, J.L., Horan, D.L., Jones, C.M., 2003, Relationships between water, otolith, and scale chemistries of westslope cutthroat trout from the Coeur d'Alene River, Idaho: The potential application of hard-part chemistry to describe movements in freshwater. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 132, 409-424. 2.0.CO;2>CrossRef
Woodhead, J., Swearer, S., Hergta, J., Maasa, R., 2005, In situ Sr-isotope analysis of carbonates by LA-MC-ICP-MS: Interference corrections, high spatial resolution and an example from otolith studies. J. Analyt. Atomic Spectrometr. 20, 22-27. CrossRef
Zlokovitz, E.R., Secor, D.H., Piccoli, P.M., 2003, Patterns of migration in Hudson River striped bass as determined by otolith microchemistry. Fish. Res. 63, 245-259. CrossRef