| Stock discrimination has been, and will continue to be, of interest to population ecologists and fisheries managers. Morphological, genetic and microchemical techniques have been applied in stock discrimination projects with varying degrees of success. The selection of an appropriate technique in each instance is important and comparative studies are necessary to understand system specificity and the effects of technological developments. This thesis concerns the development and assessment of otolith microchemistry, and the assessment of otolith morphology, for application to stock discrimination within the Lake Erie walleye ( Stizostedion vitreum) fishery. Larval walleye were collected from various spawning sites in spring 2001. Techniques were developed and refined for sagittal otolith extraction and cleaning, in preparation for microchemical analyses by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).; Lapillar otoliths were extracted and imaged for morphological analysis and Fourier coefficients were generated using Elliptical Fourier Analysis. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
