Age estimation for young bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) using annual baleen growth increments

2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 525-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Lubetkin ◽  
J. E. Zeh ◽  
C. Rosa ◽  
J. C. George
Keyword(s):  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Age Determination ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Exponential Model ◽  
Growth Increment ◽  
Balaena Mysticetus ◽  
Nonlinear Mixed Effects Model ◽  
Bowhead Whales ◽  
Growth Increments ◽  
Age Estimates

We compiled age estimates and baleen plate δ13C data from 86 bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus L., 1758). We used previous whale age estimates based on aspartic acid racemization (AAR) and corpora counts to extend the use of δ13C data for age determination from cycle counting to a modified exponential model using annual baleen growth increments. Our approach used the growth increment data from individual whales in a nonlinear mixed effects model to assess both population-level and whale-specific growth parameters. Although age estimates from baleen-based models become less precise as the whales age, and baleen growth and length near steady state, the growth increment model shows promise in estimating ages of bowhead whales 10–13.5 m long with baleen lengths <250 cm, where other techniques are less precise or the data are scarce. Ages estimated using the growth increment data from such whales ranged from 6.4 to 19.8 years.

Age and growth of the narrow-barred Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson Lacepede, 1880) in North-eastern Queensland waters

1992 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 1269 ◽  
Author(s):  
GR McPherson
Keyword(s):  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Age And Growth ◽  
Differential Growth ◽  
Daily Growth ◽  
Spanish Mackerel ◽  
Growth Increments ◽  
Scomberomorus Commerson ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Marginal Increment ◽  
Age Estimates

Whole otoliths were used to age Scomberomorus commerson in tropical Australian waters. Age estimates were validated by marginal-increment analysis of the first three otolith annuli. Confirmation of age estimates was provided by otolith daily growth increments and tag returns of known age. Differential growth in length, weight and longevity was evident between the sexes. The oldest male was 10 years old (127 cm FL, 19.0 kg). The oldest female was 14 years old (155 cm FL, 35 kg). The von Bertalanffy growth parameters L∞ and K were 127.5 cm and 0.25 for males and 155.0 cm and 0.17 for females.

Statistical modeling of baleen and body length at age in bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus)

2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (8) ◽  
pp. 915-931 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.C. Lubetkin ◽  
J.E. Zeh ◽  
J.C. George
Keyword(s):  
Body Length ◽  
Growth Model ◽  
Growth Models ◽  
Information Criterion ◽  
Single Stage ◽  
Von Bertalanffy ◽  
Balaena Mysticetus ◽  
Bowhead Whales ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Age Estimates

We used baleen lengths and age estimates from 175 whales and body lengths and age estimates from 205 whales to test which of several single- and multi-stage growth models best characterized age-specific baleen and body lengths for bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus L., 1758) with the goal of determining which would be best for predicting whale age based on baleen or body length. Previous age estimates were compiled from several techniques, each of which is valid over a relatively limited set of physical characteristics. The best fitting single-stage growth model was a variation of the von Bertalanffy growth model for both baleen and body length data. Based on Bayesian information criterion, the two- and three-stage versions of the von Bertalanffy model fit the data better than did the single-stage models for both baleen and body length. The best baleen length models can be used to estimate expected ages for bowhead whales with up to 300–325 cm baleen, depending on sex, which correspond to age estimates approaching 60 years. The best body length models can be used to estimate expected ages for male bowhead whales up to 14 m, and female bowheads up to 15.5 m or ages up to approximately 40 years.

A new way to estimate the age of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) using ovarian corpora counts

2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (9) ◽  
pp. 840-852 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. George ◽  
E. Follmann ◽  
J. Zeh ◽  
M. Sousa ◽  
R. Tarpley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Corpus Luteum ◽  
Pregnancy Rate ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Standard Errors ◽  
Reproductive Parameters ◽  
Balaena Mysticetus ◽  
Bowhead Whales ◽  
Aspartic Acid Racemization ◽  
Sexually Mature ◽  
Age Estimates

We used lengths and reproductive data for bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus L., 1758) harvested by Alaskan Eskimos to estimate female reproductive parameters and age. Data from 117 females determined that 75 were sexually mature and 42 were immature. Estimated length at sexual maturity was 13.35 m. Counts of ovarian corpora were obtained from 50 mature females. Corpora and baleen data were used with aspartic acid racemization (AAR) data to obtain estimated age at sexual maturity (ASM) at ≈26 years. The number of corpora counted in both ovaries (or estimated when only one ovary was counted) was used with ASM and estimated ovulation rate (OR) to obtain corpora age estimates ranging from 26 to 149 years. A stone harpoon tip recovered from whale 92B2 was consistent with her corpora age of 133 years. The correlation between corpora and AAR age estimates was 0.77. Estimated standard errors of corpora ages tended to be somewhat higher than those for comparable AAR ages. A sample of potentially mature females examined for maturity and presence of a corpus luteum and (or) fetus provided an OR value of 0.332·year–1 and an estimated pregnancy rate of 0.326·year–1, implying intervals between ovulations and pregnancies of 3.0 and 3.1 years.

Age and growth of the Pacific grenadier (Coryphaenoides acrolepis) with age estimate validation using an improved radiometric ageing technique

1999 ◽  
Vol 56 (8) ◽  
pp. 1339-1350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen H Andrews ◽  
Gregor M Cailliet ◽  
Kenneth H Coale
Keyword(s):  
Information Age ◽  
Growth Increment ◽  
Age And Growth ◽  
Fishing Pressure ◽  
Large Fish ◽  
Growth Increments ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Annual Periodicity ◽  
Radiometric Ages ◽  
Age Estimates

Current and historic longevity estimates for the Pacific grenadier (Coryphaenoides acrolepis) range from 6 to greater than 60 years. Age estimates in this study using growth increment counts in thin otolith sections indicate the Pacific grenadier is a long-lived fish. To validate this growth information, age was determined using the radioactive disequilibria of 210Pb and 226Ra in otolith cores from adult Pacific grenadier. Radiometric ages closely agreed with age estimates from counting growth increments, which confirms their annual periodicity. Radiometric results indicate the Pacific grenadier can live at least 55.8 years (-7.4, +10.1 years). Growth increment counts from large fish indicate longevity may approach 73 years. Because the Pacific grenadier is long-lived and matures late in life, it may be vulnerable to heavy fishing pressure. Therefore, conservation measures need to be taken to sustain this rapidly developing fishery.

scholarly journals Validated age, growth, and mortality estimates of the ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) in the western Atlantic

2006 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raouf W. Kilada ◽  
Steven E. Campana ◽  
Dale Roddick
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Bomb ◽  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Shell Growth ◽  
Arctica Islandica ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Instantaneous Rate ◽  
Growth Increments ◽  
Age Frequency Distribution ◽  
Mortality Estimates ◽  
Age Estimates

Abstract Kilada, R. W., Campana S. E., and Roddick, D. 2007. Validated age, growth, and mortality estimates of the ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) in the western Atlantic. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 31–38. The age structure of offshore (Sable Bank) and inshore (St Mary's Bay) populations of eastern Canadian ocean quahogs (Arctica islandica), and of a northwestern Iceland population, is investigated. Age estimates for eastern Canadian ocean quahogs were validated through analysis of bomb-produced 14C in quahog shell growth increments deposited before, during, and after the atmospheric atomic bomb testing periods of the 1950s and 1960s. Delta 14C from shells with presumed birthdates between the late 1950s and 1970s clearly reflects the sharp increase in oceanic radiocarbon attributable to nuclear testing. The results validate our age interpretations of Sable Bank quahogs to an age of 45 y, and support longevity estimates of more than 200 y for the same population. Longevity calculations for the other populations exceeded 60 y. Von Bertalanffy growth parameters were estimated for the three populations; the growth rate of all three was relatively rapid for the first 20–30 y of life, but thereafter was very slow. The instantaneous rate of natural mortality (M), calculated using the age–frequency distribution of the unexploited populations, was estimated to be 0.03 and 0.10 for the Sable Bank and St Mary's Bay populations, respectively.

scholarly journals 3D enamel profilometry reveals faster growth but similar stress severity in Neanderthal versus Homo sapiens teeth

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate McGrath ◽  
Laura Sophia Limmer ◽  
Annabelle-Louise Lockey ◽  
Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg ◽  
Donald J. Reid ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Stress ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Tooth Surface ◽  
Growth Increments ◽  
Anterior Teeth

AbstractEarly life stress disrupts growth and creates horizontal grooves on the tooth surface in humans and other mammals, yet there is no consensus for their quantitative analysis. Linear defects are considered to be nonspecific stress indicators, but evidence suggests that intermittent, severe stressors create deeper defects than chronic, low-level stressors. However, species-specific growth patterns also influence defect morphology, with faster-growing teeth having shallower defects at the population level. Here we describe a method to measure the depth of linear enamel defects and normal growth increments (i.e., perikymata) from high-resolution 3D topographies using confocal profilometry and apply it to a diverse sample of Homo neanderthalensis and H. sapiens anterior teeth. Debate surrounds whether Neanderthals exhibited modern human-like growth patterns in their teeth and other systems, with some researchers suggesting that they experienced more severe childhood stress. Our results suggest that Neanderthals have shallower features than H. sapiens from the Upper Paleolithic, Neolithic, and medieval eras, mirroring the faster growth rates in Neanderthal anterior teeth. However, when defect depth is scaled by perikymata depth to assess their severity, Neolithic humans have less severe defects, while Neanderthals and the other H. sapiens groups show evidence of more severe early life growth disruptions.

Age determination and growth of orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus): a comparison of annulus counts with radiometric ageing

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 391-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Smith ◽  
Simon G. Robertson ◽  
Gwen E. Fenton ◽  
Stephen A. Short
Keyword(s):  
Age Determination ◽  
Percentage Reduction ◽  
Age At Maturity ◽  
Otolith Growth ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Orange Roughy ◽  
Mass Growth ◽  
Hoplostethus Atlanticus ◽  
Age Estimates ◽  
Radiometric Data

Ages of orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) determined by two methods (counting annuli on the surface of whole and in longitudinally sectioned otoliths) were similar up to maturity. Beyond maturity, age estimates from sectioned otoliths exceeded those from whole otoliths. Maximum recorded age was 125 years for an individual 41 cm standard length (SL), and age at maturity was estimated to be 25 years (30–32 cm SL). These are consistent with ages estimated previously by radiometric methods. Results demonstrated a two-stage linear relationship between otolith weight and age that confirmed the two-stage otolith mass growth model previously used in radiometric ageing. However, in the radiometric analyses the reduction in otolith growth was arbitrarily estimated at 45% of the immature rate whereas annuli data demonstrated a reduction after maturity to 62% of the immature rate. The new estimates of otolith mass growth rate were incorporated into the radiometric data and ages recalculated, which reduced age estimates for 38–40 cm SL fish from 77–149 to 59–101 years. The radiometric data were also recalculated using only the percentage reduction in otolith growth after maturity, giving the radiometric age of 125 ± 9 years for the oldest fish.

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