Otolith Science - Nature Vancouver presentation by Micah Quindazzi. Sep 9, 2021

Otoliths have been used by marine biologists since 1899 to glean insight into the lives of fishes. Otoliths (Greek for “ear-stone”) are calcium carbonate structures found beneath the brain of most fish that aid in balance and hearing (more at fisheries.org). As time has passed, various techniques have been developed to study the ontogeny, migratory history, trophic ecology, and stock structure of fish species around the world. Recently, two methods have received a lot of attention by marine biologists studying otoliths, otolith morphometrics and otolith microchemistry. Recent innovations around otolith morphometrics include the introduction of a 3rd dimension to analyses, as well as automation and machine learning to increase output and repeatability. Recent innovations around otolith microchemistry include the use of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to track the marine migrations of fishes, such as coho and chinook salmon. Micah is a PhD student in the Francis Juanes lab at the University of Victoria who studies otolith morphometrics and otolith microchemistry primarily in coho and chinook salmon, as well as other various species across the Salish Sea.