USING OTOLITH GROWTH PATTERN AS A TOOL FOR COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF OTOLITH GROWTH IN THE ARCTIC FLOUNDER LIOPSETTA GLACIALIS FROM ONEGA BAY OF THE WHITE SEA

摘要

One of the methods for studying otoliths which has been widely promoted around the world in recent decades is otolithometry. There has so far been no otolithometric research on pleuronectids in basins of Arctic seas other than the author’s own. The technique presented here can be used for a visual comparison of the growth rate of otoliths and fish as one of the methods for studying it based on the results of otolithometry. The comparison of the growth rate of fish otoliths would be the most informative in fish with pronounced sexual dimorphism. Annual ring sizes are especially clearly visible and comparable in the first years of life. When comparing area-specific patterns, fish of certain age are taken for each area. On the basis of the information received, growth rates are analyzed and compared among areas. The paper presents the methods of plotting an otolith growth pattern for illustrative study and comparison of growth rates in the Arctic flounder Liopsetta glacialis (Pleuronectidae) in different habitats. No such techniques have previously been published in the literature.