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Vital effects in biominerals

For my PhD work I examined the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on otolith trace element incorporation, performing extensive literature reviews and a long-term "mensurative" experiment examining seasonal changes in seawater, blood, and otolith element concentrations. The results suggest that in a fully marine environment, where physico-chemical variations are relatively small, physiological signals (e.g. growth, reproduction, stress) can outweigh environmental signals, potentially confusing movement reconstructions that rely on spatially explicit, environmental markers. 

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We also analyzed the otoliths of free-ranging plaice with known migration patterns based on data storage tags (see image, right) to validate the use of otolith oxygen isotope and trace element concentrations to reconstruct migration patterns. 

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Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) with a data storage tag used to reconstruct its migration patterns in the North Sea and English Channel (photo credit: CEFAS; see papers by Ewan Hunter et al). 

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Taking monthly blood samples from plaice at CEFAS, Lowestoft to examine the relationship between water-blood-otolith element concentrations in mature and immature marine fish.

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