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Temperature and growth effects on otolith elemental chemistry of larval Pacific cod, Gadus macrocephalus

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Abstract

Variation in otolith elemental composition is used to investigate movements of teleost fishes based on observations that otolith elemental composition reflects variation in water chemistry. Various environmental (e.g., temperature, salinity, and water concentration) and biological (e.g., growth, diet, and ontogeny) factors can influence otolith elemental incorporation although the relative influence of these factors remains poorly understood for most species. Therefore, we examined the effects of temperature and growth rate on the otolith elemental composition of larval Pacific cod, Gadus macrocephalus. The larvae were progeny of wild Pacific cod collected from spawning grounds near Kodiak Island, Alaska. Immediately after hatching, larvae were acclimated to 2°C, 5°C, and 8°C and reared for 38–51 days. Otolith concentrations of Li, Mg, Ca, Mn, Zn, Sr, and Ba were measured using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Li and Zn otolith concentrations were near detection limits and excluded from subsequent analyses. The effects of temperature on otolith partition coefficients (DMe) varied among elements. DMg showed no relationship with temperature whereas DSr and DBa decreased with increasing temperature. It is possible that, for larval Pacific cod, kinetic effects are more important in the incorporation of Sr and Ba whereas metabolic effects may play a larger role in the incorporation of Mg. There was no evidence for an effect of somatic growth rate or otolith precipitation rate on DMe for any of the elements, which indicates that individual growth variation is unlikely to lead to misinterpretation of field-collected data. Understanding variable relationships among otolith elemental signatures, environmental conditions, and fish physiology can improve the accuracy of interpretations of field data, particularly in marine systems where spatial variation in element concentrations are typically lower than freshwater environments.

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Acknowledgements

We thank B. Laurel and T. Tripp for collection, fertilization, and shipping of Pacific cod eggs. We also thank B. Laurel, L. Copeman, S. Haines, M. Ottmar, and A. Colton for assisting with larval rearing. We appreciate the assistance of B. Conard with water analysis. We thank A. Ungerer of the W.M. Keck Collaboratory for providing valuable assistance with ICPMS analyses. We thank A. Stoner, L. Ciannelli, G. Boehlert, and two anonymous reviewers whose comments greatly improved this manuscript. This research was supported with funding from the North Pacific Research Board grant #R0816. This is publication 246 of the North Pacific Research Board.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, 2030 SE Marine Science Drive, Newport, OR, 97365, USA

    R. A. DiMaria & J. A. Miller

  2. Fisheries Behavioral Ecology Program,Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering Division, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Science Center, NOAA 2030 SE Marine Science Dr., Newport, OR, 97365, USA

    T. P. Hurst

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  1. R. A. DiMaria
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Correspondence to R. A. DiMaria.

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DiMaria, R.A., Miller, J.A. & Hurst, T.P. Temperature and growth effects on otolith elemental chemistry of larval Pacific cod, Gadus macrocephalus . Environ Biol Fish 89, 453–462 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-010-9665-2

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