Experimental validation of otolith-based age and growth reconstructions across multiple life stages of a critically endangered estuarine fish.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The application of otolith-based tools to inform the management and conservation of fishes first requires taxon- and stage-specific validation. The Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus), a critically endangered estuarine fish that is endemic to the upper San Francisco Estuary (SFE), California, United States, serves as a key indicator species in the SFE; thus, understanding this species' vital rates and population dynamics is valuable for assessing the overall health of the estuary. Otolith-based tools have been developed and applied across multiple life stages of Delta Smelt to reconstruct age structure, growth, phenology, and migration. However, key methodological assumptions have yet to be validated, thus limiting confidence in otolith-derived metrics that are

SUBMITTER: Xieu W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8605759 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature