Sensory signal convergence is a fundamental and important aspect of brain function. Such convergence may often involve complex multidimensional interactions as those proposed for the processing of otolith and semicircular canal (SCC) information for the detection of translational head movements and the effective discrimination from physically congruent gravity signals. In the present study, we ...

Relationships between somatic growth (length and weight) and two indirect measures of growth (otolith growth, RNA/DNA ratio) were assessed for red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) under different feeding rations [0%, 2.5%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% body weight (BW)/day] for 30 days. Representative samples from each ration level were taken in 10-day intervals between Day 0 and Day 30 for evaluation of dir...

Retracing movements of euryhaline fishes using otolith chemistry analysis is a complex task, requiring detailed knowledge of the relationships between otolith and water chemistry for the target species and how these relationships change across dynamic environmental gradients in estuaries. In a controlled laboratory experiment, we quantified relationships between salinity and Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca rat...

Cadherin-11/Cdh11 is expressed through early development and strongly during inner ear development (otic placode and vesicle). Here we show that antisense knockdown of Cdh11 during early zebrafish development interferes with otolith formation. Immunofluorescence labeling showed that Cdh11 expression was concentrated on and within the otolith. Cdh11 was faintly detected at the lateral surface (s...

Variation in the chemical composition of fish otoliths has been used in recent years to address a range of ecological questions, including levels of stock mixing, variation in habitat use, and rates of larval exchange. While some of these questions have been answered with varying success, the degree to which discrete populations are connected via larval exchange remains unknown. To identify lar...

The diel vertical migration (DVM) of the whole plankton community was investigated in the central and coastal Irish Sea. Generally, more than 60% of the plankton did not perform significant DVM. A correlation analysis of the weighted mean depths of different organisms and their potential predators suggested relationships between 2 groups: Oithona spp., copepod nauplii and fish larvae, and Calan...

In conjunction with microstructural interpretation, variation of the Sr/Ca ratio in otoliths of Platycephalus bassensis have been determined in an effort to uncover the role of biomineralisation in otolith trace element uptake. After subsequent microstructural analysis by Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD), Sr/Ca ratios across otolith growth rings were determined by Electron Probe Microana...

The high spatial resolution analysis of the mineral and organic composition of otoliths using Raman micro-spectrometry involves rigorous protocols for sample preparation previously established for microchemistry and trace elements analyses. These protocols often include otolith embedding in chemically neutral resin (i.e., resins which do not contain, in detectable concentration, elements usuall...

The influence of feeding history on otolith shape and symmetry was examined in juveniles of 2 species of coral reef fish, Amphiprion akindynos and Pomacentrus amboinensis. Fast Fourier analysis was used to describe the shape of otoliths of fish from a variety of experimental feeding treatments, ranging from starvation, through pulse feeding, to feeding ad libitum. The resulting harmonics from b...