Standard Talk (15 mins) Australian Society for Fish Biology Conference 2022

Reading the biomineralized book of life: Expanding otolith chemical research and applications for fisheries and ecosystem-based management (#113)

Patrick Reis-Santos 1 , Bronwyn Gillanders 1 , Anna M Sturrock 2 , Christopher Izzo 3 , Dion S Oxman 4 , Jessica A Lueders-Dumont 5 , Karin Hüssy 6 , Susanne E Tanner 7 , Troy Rogers 8 , Zoë A Doubleday 9 , Allen H Andrews 10 , Clive Trueman 11 , Deirdre Brophy 12 , Jason D Thiem 13 , Lee J Baumgartner 14 , Malte Willmes 15 , Ming-Tsung Chung 16 , Rachel C Johnson 17 , Yvette Heimbrand 18 , Karin Limburg 19 , Benjamin D Walther 20
  1. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
  2. University of Essex, , UK
  3. FRDC - Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, , Australia
  4. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, , AL, USA
  5. Princeton University, , NJ, USA
  6. Technical University of Denmark, , Denmark
  7. MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
  8. South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), , SA, Australia
  9. Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes , SA, Australia
  10. University of Hawaii at Manoa, , HA, USA
  11. University of Southampton , , UK
  12. Atlantic Technological University, , Ireland
  13. Department of Primary Industries, , Narrandera, NSW, Australia
  14. Charles Sturt University, , Albury, NSW, Australia
  15. University of California, , Santa Cruz, CA, USA
  16. National Taiwan University, , Taiwan
  17. University of California, , Davis, CA, USA
  18. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, , Sweden
  19. State University of New York, , Syracuse, NY, USA
  20. Texas A&M University, , Corpus Christi, TX, USA

Chemical analysis of otoliths and other calcified structures continues to thrive. Analytical advances allow us to tap into the chemical and isotopic composition of otoliths, but also of many other archival structures, to reconstruct fish life histories at ever greater resolutions. More and more, biogeochemical tracers are being applied to enhance age estimation and interpretation, and to chronicle responses to environmental conditions and stressors, linking these to ecological, physiological, and life-history processes. Here, we review innovative approaches in the chemistry of archival tissues, highlighting our current work and case studies focusing primarily on otoliths and their outstanding value for fisheries and ecosystem-based management. We summarise recent milestones and future challenges, turning the spotlight on areas where otolith chemistry is rapidly expanding to further support decision-making. We do this across application-oriented research areas that combine biogeochemical analysis with a host of disciplines. Overall, emerging research directions that apply hard part chemistry to unravel past food webs, combat seafood fraud, as well as resolve and integrate growth, thermal and metabolic stress, movement, or reproductive life histories provide a clear-sighted focus to examine how harvesting and global change may impact fish health and fisheries productivity. Ultimately, these emerging approaches on otoliths and calcified structures provide a wealth of information that can be harnessed to strengthen fisheries and ecosystem-based management.