Exploring the biological information content of growth increments in otoliths of Recent and fossil species of the Gobiidae (Teleostei)

鱼耳石显示每日、季节和每年的增量(生长轮和标记)，可提供有关生活史特征的重要生物学信息。以前发表的研究表明，根据最近虾虎鱼物种的耳石进行生长分析，确定变态(从幼鱼到幼鱼)和死亡时的年龄是可行的。在拟议的项目中，我们将首先使用最近的虎鱼物种的耳石来开发耳石薄片制备的优化方案，并收集对虎鱼标本的生长模式和年龄确定的分析的见解。因为我们对识别化石记录中的矮虎鱼物种很感兴趣，我们将在第一步中使用两个正常大小的(8-10厘米总鱼长)和两个矮虎鱼物种(&lt；4厘米总鱼长)的耳石。接下来，我们将把这种方法应用于两个化石物种的耳石(每个物种10个耳石)来分析生长和年龄模式。该项目将与M.Afzal Khan博士(印度)合作进行，他在根据最近鱼类物种的耳石确定生长率和年龄方面拥有丰富的专业知识。在中新世以来的化石记录中，虎虎鱼的耳石化石十分丰富。如果我们成功地确定了在该项目中研究的虎鱼化石物种的生活史特征和年龄，耳石化石将为了解古代虎鱼的生物学(也可能为其他鱼类群体)提供一个新的代理。此外，鉴定侏儒虎鱼化石将开辟有关古代虎虎鱼物种多样性的全新信息来源。因此，拟议项目的结果将极大地促进我们对一类重要鱼类进化的了解。

Fish otoliths exhibit daily, seasonal and annual increments (growth rings and marks) that can provide important biological information on life history characteristics. Previously published studies indicate that growth analysis, determination of age at metamorphosis (transition from larva to juvenile fish) and at death is feasible based on otoliths of Recent gobiid (goby) species. In the proposed project we will first use the otoliths of Recent goby species to develop an optimized protocol for otolith thin-section preparation and to gather insights into analysis of growth patterns and age determination of a goby specimen. Because we are interested in identifying dwarf goby species in the fossil record, we will use for this first step the otoliths of two normal-sized (8-10 cm total fish length) and two dwarf goby species (< 4 cm total fish length). Next, we will apply the method to the otoliths of two fossil species (10 otoliths per species) to analyse growth and age patterns. The project will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. M. Afzal Khan (India) who has great expertise in determining growth rates and ages based on otoliths from Recent fish species. Fossil otoliths of gobies are very abundant in the fossil record since the Miocene. If we succeed in defining life history characteristics and ages for the fossil goby species studied during this project, fossil otoliths will provide a new proxy for understanding the biology of ancient gobies (and possibly also for other fish groups). Furthermore, identification of a fossil dwarf goby would open up a completely new source of information on ancient goby species diversity. Thus, the outcome of the proposed project would significantly advance our understanding of the evolution of an important group of fishes.