FAH: Environmental Histories of Larval Herring in the Gulf of Maine

主要研究人员正在继续研究利用鱼耳石中的Sr/Ca比率来解决有关生物生长速度历史和鱼类生长过程中所暴露的环境条件的问题。有两个阶段：(1)实验室阶段改进研究人员开发的技术，以检查耳石带中的Sr/Ca比率；(2)实地阶段深入了解缅因湾鲱鱼幼虫的越冬分布可能如何影响招募。在他们的野外研究中，他们将在秋季和冬季中期确定鲱鱼幼鱼产卵后不久的分布。将获得的数据与成年鱼的Sr/Ca耳石测量值进行比较，以确定观察到的幼虫分布是否反映在耳石带中。

The principal investigators are continuing their research on the use of Sr/Ca ratios in fish otoliths to resolve questions about an organism's growth rate history and about the environmental conditions that fish were exposed to during their growth. There are two phases: (1) a laboratory phase to improve the technique the investigators developed to examine Sr/Ca ratios in otolith bands, and (2) a field phase to gain insight into how the overwintering distibutions of herring larvae in the Gulf of Maine may affect recruitment. For the field component of their study, they will determine the distribution of herring larve shortly after spawing in the fall and in mid-winter. The data obtained will be compared with Sr/Ca otolith measurements on adult fish to determine if the distribution of larvae observed is reflected in the otolith banding.