Otolith research information

Scientific information on topics relating to otoliths and ageing methods.

Microstructure examinations

How we use otolith deposit growth increments to gain information on fish.

Preparation and interpretation, age validation and mass processing.

Best methods for insuring accuracy in large-scale production ageing and small-scale research projects.

Avoid otolith ageing errors and incorrect conclusions.

Challenges to precise ageing and how using bomb radiocarbon overcomes some of those issues.

About elemental assays, radioactive decay and isotopic ratios.

Reconstructing fish species and size composition from the diet of fish predators.

Elemental composition assumptions, what affects elemental tags and types of fingerprinting.

Beam-based elemental assays advantages and disadvantages, instruments, reconstruction ability and migration analysis.

How we reconstruct otolith temperature histories using isotopes and relative temperature histories.

Growth rate calculations, back-calculations, constraints and the biological intercept method.

Otoliths in studies of recruitment processes and determination of growth patterns.

About image analysis systems, applications and our system setup.

Images of otoliths that have been part of an age validation study and have had their ages reasonably confirmed.