Validation of daily increments and a marine-entry check in the otoliths of sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka post-smolts.

ABSTRACT

Juvenile sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka that were reared and smolted in laboratory conditions were found to produce otolith daily increments, as well as a consistently visible marine-entry check formed during their transition to salt water. Field-collected O. nerka post-smolts of an equivalent age also displayed visible checks; however, microchemistry estimates of marine-entry date using SrCa ratios differed from visual estimates by c. 9 days suggesting that microstructural and microchemical processes occur on different time scales.