Abstract
<p> <p id="x-x-sp0055"> Widely used sclerochronological methods for biologically aging fossilized oysters, such as δ <sup> 18 </sup> O and Mg/Ca analyses, are costly, time-consuming, and not always practical for population-level analyses. A method that relies on visible morphological features, such as growth bands, to determine the lifespan of <em> Crassostrea virginica </em> would provide a cost-efficient and reliable alternative. Previous studies have assessed whether counting growth bands can be used to biologically age <em> C. virginica </em> from the southeastern U.S. but have produced conflicting results. For this study, we conducted subseasonal sclerochronological analyses on Pleistocene <em> C. virginica </em> from the mid-Atlantic U.S. to determine whether growth band counting could be used to reliably measure oyster lifespan. <p id="x-x-sp0060"> A highly significant correlation exists between δ <sup> 18 </sup> O peaks and major (annual) grey growth bands in these oysters. Major grey and white growth bands differ significantly with respect to δ <sup> 18 </sup> O values. These data suggest that, for <em> C. virginica </em> from the Pleistocene of the mid-Atlantic U.S., major grey growth bands are accreted during the colder months of the year and can be used as annual markers to biologically age <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/specimen" title="Learn more about Specimen from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages"> specimens </a> . The results presented here differ from previous studies that reported no link between growth bands and δ <sup> 18 </sup> O values, possibly because the latter focused on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/tropics" title="Learn more about Tropics from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages"> lower latitude </a> regions with different seasonal temperature regimes and sampled only the early stages of growth, which contain morphological features that could be confused with major growth bands. While growth band counting of oysters shows promise as a method for biologically aging oysters that experience high seasonal temperature variability, future studies are needed to assess its applicability over a broader geographic range. </p> </p></p>
Original language | American English |
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Journal | Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |
Volume | 516 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 15 2019 |
Keywords
- Sclerochronology
- Conservation paleobiology
- Life history
- Stable oxygen isotopes
- Oysters
Disciplines
- Earth Sciences