Otolith
This article may be too technical for most readers to understand.(March 2021) |
Otolith | |
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Details | |
Identifiers | |
Latin | statoconium |
TA98 | A15.3.03.086 |
FMA | 77826 |
Anatomical terminology |
An otolith (Greek: ὠτο-, ōto- ear + λῐ́θος, líthos, a stone), also called statoconium or otoconium or statolith, is a calcium carbonate structure in the saccule or utricle of the inner ear, specifically in the vestibular system of vertebrates. The saccule and utricle, in turn, together make the otolith organs. These organs are what allows an organism, including humans, to perceive linear acceleration, both horizontally and vertically (gravity). They have been identified in both extinct and extant vertebrates.[1]
Counting the annual growth rings on the otoliths is a common technique in
Description
Endolymphatic infillings such as otoliths are structures in the
Similar balance receptors called
Statoconia (also called otoconia) are numerous grains, often
Mechanism
The
In mammals, otoliths are small particles, consisting of a combination of a gelatinous matrix and calcium carbonate in the viscous fluid of the saccule and utricle. The weight and inertia of these small particles causes them to stimulate hair cells when the head moves. The hair cells are made up of 40 to 70 stereocilia and one kinocilium, which is connected to an afferent nerve. Hair cells send signals down sensory nerve fibers which are interpreted by the brain as motion. In addition to sensing acceleration of the head, the otoliths can help to sense the orientation via gravity's effect on them. When the head is in a normal upright position, the otolith presses on the sensory hair cell receptors. This pushes the hair cell processes down and prevents them from moving side to side. However, when the head is tilted, the pull of gravity on otoliths shifts the hair cell processes to the side, distorting them and sending a message to the central nervous system that the head is tilted.
There is evidence that the vestibular system of mammals has retained some of its ancestral acoustic sensitivity and that this sensitivity is mediated by the otolithic organs (most likely the sacculus, due to its anatomical location). In mice lacking the otoconia of the utricle and saccule, this retained acoustic sensitivity is lost.[4] In humans vestibular evoked myogenic potentials occur in response to loud, low-frequency acoustic stimulation in patients with the sensorineural hearing loss.[3] Vestibular sensitivity to ultrasonic sounds has also been hypothesized to be involved in the perception of speech presented at artificially high frequencies, above the range of the human cochlea (~18 kHz).[10] In mice, sensation of acoustic information via the vestibular system has been demonstrated to have a behaviourally relevant effect; response to an elicited acoustic startle reflex is larger in the presence of loud, low frequency sounds that are below the threshold for the mouse cochlea (~4 Hz), raising the possibility that the acoustic sensitivity of the vestibular system may extend the hearing range of small mammals.[4]
Paleontology
After the death and decomposition of a fish, otoliths may be preserved within the body of an organism or be dispersed before burial and
An unclassified fossil named
Ecology
Composition
The composition of fish otoliths is also proving useful to fisheries scientists. The calcium carbonate that the otolith is composed of is primarily derived from the water. As the otolith grows, new calcium carbonate crystals form. As with any crystal structure, lattice vacancies will exist during crystal formation allowing trace elements from the water to bind with the otolith. Studying the trace elemental composition or
The most studied trace and isotopic signatures are strontium due to the same charge and similar ionic radius to calcium; however, scientists can study multiple trace elements within an otolith to discriminate more specific signatures. A common tool used to measure trace elements in an otolith is a laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. This tool can measure a variety of trace elements simultaneously. A secondary ion mass spectrometer can also be used. This instrument can allow for greater chemical resolution but can only measure one trace element at a time. The hope of this research is to provide scientists with valuable information on where fish have frequented. Combined with otolith annuli, scientists can add how old fish were when they traveled through different bodies of water. This information can be used to determine fish life cycles so that fisheries scientists can make better informed decisions about fish stocks.
Growth rate and age
The shapes and proportional sizes of the otoliths vary with fish species. In general, fish from highly structured habitats such as reefs or rocky bottoms (e.g.
Fish otoliths accrete layers of
In addition, in most species the accretion of calcium carbonate and gelatinous matrix alternates on a daily cycle. It is therefore also possible to determine fish age in days.[17] This latter information is often obtained under a microscope, and provides significant data to early life history studies.
By measuring the thickness of individual rings, it has been assumed (at least in some species) to estimate fish growth because fish growth is directly proportional to otolith growth.[18] However, some studies disprove a direct link between body growth and otolith growth. At times of lower or zero body growth the otolith continues to accrete leading some researchers to believe the direct link is to metabolism, not growth per se. Otoliths, unlike scales, do not reabsorb during times of decreased energy making it even more useful tool to age a fish. Fish never stop growing entirely, though growth rate in mature fish is reduced. Rings corresponding to later parts of the life cycle tend to be closer together as a result. Furthermore, a small percentage of otoliths in some species bear deformities over time.[19]
Age and growth studies of fish are important for understanding such things as timing and magnitude of spawning, recruitment and habitat use, larval and juvenile duration, and population age structure. Such knowledge is in turn important for designing appropriate fisheries management policies. Due to the amount of required human labour in otolith age reading, there is active research in automating that process.[20]
Diet research
Since the compounds in fish otoliths are resistant to
by their otoliths. Otoliths can therefore, to some extent, be used to deduce and reconstruct the prey composition of marine mammal and seabird diets.Otoliths (sagittae) are
Otoliths cannot be used alone to reliably estimate
The inclusion of fish
Otolith ornaments
'Sea gems'ornaments from fish otoliths have been introduced in the market for the first time, with the efforts of a group of enthusiastic fisher women in Vizhinjam. Scientists from Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) have trained these fisher-women. Otoliths are important in fish studies ,as they have species -specific shapes and grow throughout their life. Fish Otoliths which are biomineralised ear stones provide sense of balance and help fish hear. Ornaments from fish otoliths, known to the Romans and Egyptians as lucky stones and are continued to be used in countries like Brazil, are being produced and sold in an organized and sustainable manner in India. [26]
See also
- Ossicles
- Otolithic membrane
- Otolith microchemical analysis
- Orbiting Frog Otolith, 1970 space mission
References
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- ISBN 978-1-877257-72-8.
- ^ S2CID 23530754.
- ^ PMID 20821033.
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- ^ Nolf, D. 1985. Otolithi Piscium; in H.-P. Schultze (ed.), Handbook of Paleoichthyology, Vol. 10. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, 145pp.
- .
- S2CID 233678539. Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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- PMID 27121086.
- doi:10.1071/mf04141.
- ^ Fish Age and Growth with Otoliths Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
- ^ Bos, A.R. (1999). "Tidal transport of flounder larvae (Pleuronectes flesus) in the River Elbe, Germany". Archive of Fishery and Marine Research. 47 (1): 47–60.
- ^ Jones, Cynthia M. (1992). "Development and application of the otolith increment technique". In D. K. Stevenson; S.E. Campana (eds.). Otolith microstructure examination and analysis. Vol. 117. pp. 1–11.
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ignored (help) - PMID 31149641.
- ISSN 1574-9541.
- doi:10.1139/z02-221.
- doi:10.1139/f00-032.
- .
- ^ Browne, Patience; Laake, Jeffrey L.; DeLong, Robert L. (2002). "Improving pinniped diet analyses through identification of multiple skeletal structures in fecal samples" (PDF). Fishery Bulletin. 100 (3): 423–433.
- ^ Ouwehand, J.; Leopold, M. F.; Camphuysen, C. J. (2004). "A comparative study of the diet of Guillemots Uria aalge and Razorbills Alca torda killed during the Tricolor oil incident in the south-eastern North Sea in January 2003" (PDF). Atlantic Seabirds. 6 (3): 147–163. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 6, 2020.
- ^ "FISH OTOLITH ORNAMENTS MAKE MARKET DEBUT". Universal Group Of Institutions. 31 March 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2024.