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The migratory history of anadromous and non-anadromous tapertail anchovy Coilia nasus in the Yangtze River Estuary revealed by the otolith Sr:Ca ratio

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Abstract

The migratory history of tapertail anchovy Coilia nasus in the Yangtze River Estuary, China was investigated using otolith Sr:Ca ratios and two-dimensional images of the Sr level from an X-ray electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA). The results showed that 17 of the 22 young-of-the-year (YOY) specimens had low Sr:Ca ratios (1.2–2.4 × 10−3;1.5 ± 0.3 × 10−3) at the central otolith area, indicating their riverine origin and initial freshwater residence. In addition, 11 of the 14 adult specimens had low Sr:Ca ratios (1.3–2.2 × 10−3; 1.7 ± 0.4 × 10−3) at the central otolith area but showed alternating changes between high (>4.0 × 10−3) and low (<2.5 × 10−3) values outside of this region, reflecting their riverine origin and the migration between freshwater and estuarine habitats. These 28 specimens represented the anadromous population in this region. The other 5 YOY specimens had high Sr:Ca ratios (3.6–5.9 × 10−3; 4.8 ± 0.8 × 10−3) throughout the life history. Similarly, the other 3 adult specimens had high Sr:Ca ratios (4.0–5.7 × 10−3; 4.8 ± 0.7 × 10−3) at the central otolith area but showed alternating changes between low and high values outside this region, suggesting that estuarine-origin non-anadromous individuals occurred in this region. The average of the otolith Sr:Ca ratios and Sr level mapping along the life-history transects could be used as a scalar for charting the migratory history of the tapertail anchovy in the Yangtze River Estuary: <2.0 × 10−3 for freshwater residence and 3.5–6.0 × 10−3 for estuarine residence.

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Acknowledgements

SZ Dou thanks the National Natural Science Foundation of China (contract No. 40676086, 40976084, 31061160187 and 40821004) and the Ministry of Science and Technology of PR China (contract No. 2009AA09Z401) for supporting his research on otolith microstructure and microchemistry over the past five years.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, People’s Republic of China

    Shuo-Zeng Dou, Xin Yu & Liang Cao

  2. Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba, 277-8564, Japan

    Kazuki Yokouchi, Mari Kuroki, Tsuguo Otake & Katsumi Tsukamoto

  3. Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Xin Yu

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  1. Shuo-Zeng Dou
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  2. Kazuki Yokouchi
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  3. Xin Yu
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  4. Liang Cao
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  5. Mari Kuroki
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  6. Tsuguo Otake
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  7. Katsumi Tsukamoto
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Correspondence to Shuo-Zeng Dou.

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Dou, SZ., Yokouchi, K., Yu, X. et al. The migratory history of anadromous and non-anadromous tapertail anchovy Coilia nasus in the Yangtze River Estuary revealed by the otolith Sr:Ca ratio. Environ Biol Fish 95, 481–490 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-012-0042-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-012-0042-1

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