engleski

Fish and sclerochronology research in the Mediterranean – challengies and opportunities

Over the past two decades, field of sclerochronology has been rapidly developing and scientists are devoting significant efforts studying physical and chemical variations in hard tissues of different marine organisms. Most of this research has been limited to certain taxa and geographic areas. Although growth increments in fish otoliths are being used for sclerochronological purposes, very little has been done in the Mediterranean Sea. The main reasons include following: (i) the longevity of very few fish species in the Mediterranean Sea extends over several decades, (ii) there are almost no otolith samples available prior to 1950s, (iii) there are problems associated with reliable age determination for certain long-lived fish species (e.g. Sparidae, Scorpaenidae, Serranidae), (iv) efforts to model the impact of climate change on fish growth have been hampered by a lack of long-term (multidecadal) data needed to understand the effects of temperature on growth rates in natural environments and (v) funding, expertise and instrumentation is limited. Despite these challenges, fish sclerochronology research does have the potential in the Mediterranean, and adjacent Seas. Recent studies in the Adriatic Sea resulted in construction of bivalve chronologies as well as geochemical analysis of shells and provide important time-series data for comparative analysis and multispecies approach. Furthermore, studies conducted in other parts of the world have demonstrated potential for use fish otolith as monitors of environmental variability and the effects of pollutants and disturbance. In a framework of NURSE fish project, financed by the Croatian Science Foundation, we recently started geochemical analysis of otoliths from Sparidae family and are investigating ways and possibilities for developing this line of research at the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split.

otolith, sclerochronology, Mediterranean Sea

nije evidentirano