This study sought to resolve whether sturgeon (Acipenseridae) sagittae (otoliths) contain a non‐vaterite fraction and to quantify how large a non‐vaterite fraction is using neutron diffraction analysis. This study found that all otoliths examined had a calcite fraction that ranged from 18 ± 6 to 36 ± 3% by mass. This calcite fraction is most probably due to biological variation during otolith formation rather than an artefact...

The objectives of this study were to characterize relationships between water and paddlefish Polyodon spathula dentary Sr:Ca, δ 18 O and stable hydrogen isotope ratio ( δ D ) to determine the accuracy with which individual P. spathula could be assigned to their collection locations using dentary‐edge Sr:Ca, δ D and δ 18 O . A laboratory experiment was also conducted to determine whether dentary Sr:Ca in age 0 year P. spathula...

This study inferred that the majority of shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus captured in the upper Mississippi River probably originated from locations outside the upper Mississippi River (Missouri River, middle Mississippi River); whereas, lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens exhibit infrequent movement outside of the upper Mississippi River, but may move throughout these interconnected large rivers at various life...

The effectiveness of pelvic fin ray microchemistry of muskellunge, E sox masquinongy Mitchill, to identify stocked individuals along with the potential to identify naturally reproduced fish were evaluated. Fish and water samples were obtained from one hatchery and seven lakes with natural differences in water Sr:Ca to determine whether location‐specific environmental signatures were recorded in sectioned muskellunge pelvic fin...

The effect of digestion by a predatory fish (largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides ) on stable isotopic (δ 13 C and δ 18 O) and trace elemental (Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca) compositions of prey fish (bluegill Lepomis macrochirus ) otoliths was investigated in a laboratory experiment. Trace element and stable‐isotopic signatures of L. macrochirus otoliths were not significantly altered for up to 16 h after L. macrochirus were consumed by...

Laboratory growth and food consumption data for two size classes of age 2 year yellow perch Perca flavescens , each fed on two distinct feeding schedules at 21° C, were used to evaluate the abilities of the Wisconsin (WI) and Karas–Thoresson (KT) bioenergetics models to predict fish growth and cumulative consumption. Neither model exhibited consistently better performance for predicting fish body masses across all four fish si...