Lead-radium dating
Patagonian and Antarctic toothfishes
Antarctic toothfish - A deep-sea fishery off Antarctica, sold as “Chilean sea bass” with its congener (D. eleginoides)
Publication year 2010
Age estimation and lead-radium dating of Antarctic toothfish
Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) are the target of an important commercial fishery in the Southern Ocean, yet many of their life history characteristics remain largely unknown. In this study, Antarctic toothfish were aged using counts of otolith growth zones based on criteria established for Patagonian toothfish (D. eleginoides) a closely related species. To validate these ages, the radioactive disequilibrium of lead-210 and radium-226 in otolith cores was measured and used as an independent chronometer to accurately determine age. Growth zone counts indicated Antarctic toothfish live to at least 39 years of age, and were in close agreement with the chronometer, validating the age estimation criteria and the accuracy of age estimates. Von Bertalanffy growth function parameters indicated Antarctic toothfish were relatively slow-growing (k = 0.111), especially in relation to their maximum size (L = 158.9 cm).
Publication in Polar Biology:
