The feasibility of bomb radiocarbon analysis to support an age-at-length relationship for red abalone, Haliotis rufescens Swainson in northern California

Analysis of bomb generated radiocarbon (14C) changes in a red abalone, Haliotis rufescens Swainson shell was used to evaluate age-at-length relationships derived from data from a previous multiyear, multisite tag-recapture study. Shell carbonate was extracted from four successive growth trajectory locations in a single shell with a maximum shell length of 251 mm. Extraction locations were based on von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF) predictions and chosen to span the initial rise of the 14C-bomb pulse that is known to have occurred in surface ocean waters during 1958 ±1 y in the northeast Pacific. The close temporal correspondence of the red abalone sample series to regional D14C records demonstrated the utility of the technique for validating age-at-length relationships for the red abalone. The findings provided support for a mean VBGF derived age of 32 y (range 30–33 y) for the specimen; however, the analysis of 14C data indicated that the specimen could be older.

Leaf, R.T., A.H. Andrews, G.M. Cailliet, and T.A. Brown. 2008. The feasibility of bomb radiocarbon analysis to support an age-at-length relationship for red abalone, Haliotis rufescens Swainson in northern California. J. Shellfish Res. 27(5): 1177–1182.

Publication:

Leaf et al 2008 Abalone Bomb C-14.pdf