Geographical Origin of Amazonian Freshwater Fishes Fingerprinted by ^sup 87^Sr/^sup 86^Sr Ratios on Fish Otoliths and Scales

Calcified structures such as otoliths and scales grow continuously throughout the lifetime of fishes. The geochemical variations present in these biogenic structures are particularly relevant for studying fish migration and origin. In order to investigate the potential of the ...Sr/...Sr ratio as a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEnvironmental science & technology Vol. 48; no. 16; p. 8980
Main Authors Pouilly, Marc, Point, David, Sondag, Francis, Henry, Manuel, Santos, Roberto V
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Easton American Chemical Society 19.08.2014
Subjects
Biogeochemistry
Calcification
Comparative analysis
Fish
Fish migration
Isotopes
Ratios
River basins
Rivers
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Summary:Calcified structures such as otoliths and scales grow continuously throughout the lifetime of fishes. The geochemical variations present in these biogenic structures are particularly relevant for studying fish migration and origin. In order to investigate the potential of the ...Sr/...Sr ratio as a precise biogeochemical tag in Amazonian fishes, we compared this ratio between the water and fish otoliths and scales of two commercial fish species, Hoplias malabaricus and Schizodon fasciatus, from three major drainage basins of the Amazon: the Madeira, Solimoes, and Tapajos rivers, displaying contrasted ...Sr/...Sr ratios. A comparison of the ...Sr/...Sr ratios between the otoliths and scales of the same individuals revealed similar values and were very close to the Sr isotopic composition of the local river where they were captured. This indicates, first, the absence of Sr isotopic fractionation during biological uptake and incorporation into calcified structures and, second, that scales may represent an interesting nonlethal alternative for ...Sr/...Sr ratio measurements in comparison to otoliths. Considering the wide range of ...Sr/...Sr variations that exist across Amazonian rivers, we used variations of ...Sr/...Sr to discriminate fish origin at the basin level, as well as at the sub-basin level between the river and savannah lakes of the Beni River (Madeira basin). (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
ISSN:0013-936X