Listening in on the past: what can otolith δ18O values really tell us about the environmental history of fishes?

Audrey M Darnaude,Steven E Campana,Ewan Hunter,David Mouillot,Anna Sturrock,Clive N Trueman,Eimf Eimf,Heather Patterson

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0108539

Abstract

Oxygen isotope ratios from fish otoliths are used to discriminate marine stocks and reconstruct past climate, assuming that variations in otolith δ18O values closely reflect differences in temperature history of fish when accounting for salinity induced variability in water δ18O. To investigate this, we exploited the environmental and migratory data gathered from a decade using archival tags to study the behaviour of adult plaice (Pleuronectes platessa L.) in the North Sea. Based on the tag-derived monthly distributions of the fish and corresponding temperature and salinity estimates modelled across three consecutive years, we first predicted annual otolith δ18O values for three geographically discrete offshore sub-stocks, using three alternative plausible scenarios for otolith growth. Comparison of predicted vs. measured annual δ18O values demonstrated >96% correct prediction of sub-stock membership, irrespective of the otolith growth scenario. Pronounced inter-stock differences in δ18O values, notably in summer, provide a robust marker for reconstructing broad-scale plaice distribution in the North Sea. However, although largely congruent, measured and predicted annual δ18O values of did not fully match. Small, but consistent, offsets were also observed between individual high-resolution otolith δ18O values measured during tag recording time and corresponding δ18O predictions using concomitant tag-recorded temperatures and location-specific salinity estimates. The nature of the shifts differed among sub-stocks, suggesting specific vital effects linked to variation in physiological response to temperature. Therefore, although otolith δ18O in free-ranging fish largely reflects environmental temperature and salinity, we counsel prudence when interpreting otolith δ18O data for stock discrimination or temperature reconstruction until the mechanisms underpinning otolith δ18O signature acquisition, and associated variation, are clarified.

Highlights

Ecological studies in offshore marine ecosystems are often complicated by a lack of information describing the ambient environmental conditions habitually experienced by resident populations
Because water d18O signature is primarily salinity dependent, it is assumed to remain effectively constant in offshore water masses [3], where the d18O values of organisms’ calcified structures is gaining increasing recognition as a proxy for temperature [1]
The results presented provide new insights into the accuracy of otolith d18O values as a proxy for ambient thermal conditions in wild mature fish, with implications for studies using otolith d18O values for stock discrimination or climate change applications

Summary

Introduction

Ecological studies in offshore marine ecosystems are often complicated by a lack of information describing the ambient environmental conditions habitually experienced by resident populations. Natural proxies that indirectly record the environmental conditions experienced by marine organisms, such as the isotopic ratio of oxygen in biogenic carbonates (expressed as d18O values) are valuable for providing long-term ecological insights into marine environments [1]. Since the pioneering study of [4], the isotopic composition of oxygen in fish otoliths (‘‘ear-stones’’) has been commonly applied as a proxy for seawater temperature both by ecologists Otoliths are calcified structures located within the inner ears of teleost fish [12] which grow continuously from birth, forming seasonal accretion increments whose chemical composition reflects ambient water characteristics at the time of deposition, at least for some elements and isotopes [13]. Otolith d18O values have allowed successful identification of marine fish origin (e.g. [20,21])

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Conclusion