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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 56(5)

Bomb radiocarbon and lead–radium disequilibria in otoliths of bocaccio rockfish (Sebastes paucispinis): a determination of age and longevity for a difficult-to-age fish

Allen H. Andrews A F , Erica J. Burton B , Lisa A. Kerr C , Gregor M. Cailliet A , Kenneth H. Coale A , Craig C. Lundstrom D and Thomas A. Brown E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, California State University, 8272 Moss Landing Road, Moss Landing, CA 95039, USA.

B Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, 299 Foam Street, Monterey, CA 93940, USA.

C Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Center for Environmental Science, University of Maryland, PO Box 38, Solomons, MD 20688, USA.

D University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, Department of Geology, 245 Natural History Building, 1301 W. Green St, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.

E Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94551, USA.

F Corresponding author. Email: andrews@mlml.calstate.edu

Marine and Freshwater Research 56(5) 517-528 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF04224
Submitted: 20 August 2004  Accepted: 17 February 2005   Published: 21 July 2005

Abstract

Longevity estimates for the bocaccio rockfish (Sebastes paucispinis) using traditional techniques range from less than 20 years to approximately 50 years. Otoliths of bocaccio are difficult to age, and previous attempts to validate ages have been unsuccessful. Because otolith age suggests the bocaccio are reasonably long-lived, lead–radium dating was used in an attempt to independently age bocaccio otoliths. The measured 210Pb and 226Ra activities were among the lowest reported and resulted in poor radiometric age resolution; however, the break-and-burn technique clearly underestimated age in some cases with the longevity of the bocaccio being at least 31 years. To provide better age resolution, the bomb radiocarbon approach was applied to individual otoliths. Based on measured radiocarbon levels relative to a reference time-series, several specimens were aged at approximately 30–40 years. To evaluate these determinations, the remaining otolith of the pair was sectioned and aged blind. The result was an excellent fit to the reference time-series and a validation of the age estimates. The maximum age from growth zone counts was 37 ± 2 years, which is consistent with a reported maximum age of approximately 50 years.

Extra keywords: growth, lead–radium dating, longevity, Scorpaenidae.


Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the following people: Don Pearson, Steve Ralston, and Mary Yoklavich of NOAA, NMFS, Santa Cruz, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium for aged bocaccio rockfish otoliths and collection data; Milton Love at the Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara for additional advice and otolith samples; Pete Holden for processing radium via TIMS at the Mass Spectrometry Lab, Department of Earth Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz; Brian Baird of the Resources Agency Sea Grant Advisory Panel and Dave Thomas, Paul Reilly, Robert Lea of the California Department of Fish and Game for support in acquiring funding; Schon Hardy at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada for two important bocaccio otoliths; and Alec MacCall of NOAA, NMFS, Santa Cruz and four anonymous reviewers for constructive comments. This work, and travel to attend and present this work at the 3rd International Symposium on Fish Otolith Research and Application, was supported by the National Sea Grant College Program of the USA Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under NOAA, grant numbers NA66RG0477 and NA06RG0142, project numbers R/F-174, R/F-190, and R/F-100PD, through the California Sea Grant College Program, and, in part, by the California State Resources Agency. This research was also supported by the Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry under the University Collaborative Research Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and was performed, in part, under the auspices of the USA Department of Energy by University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract No. W-7405-Eng-48. The USA government is authorised to reproduce and distribute this report for governmental purposes. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of any of those organisations.


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