Unravelling habitat use of Coilia nasus from the Rokkaku River and Chikugo River estuaries of Japan by otolith strontium and calcium

The migratory history of the engraulid fish Coilia nasus in the Rokkaku and Chikugo River estuaries of the Ariake Sea, Japan was assessed using otolith strontium (Sr) X-ray intensity maps and strontium:calcium (Sr:Ca) ratio life history transects by an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA). The results showed that seven of the ten specimens from the Rokkaku River Estuary (LJC) and all 15 specimens collected in the Chikugo River Estuary (ZHC) had low Sr:Ca ratios (a (c) 1/23) at the central otolith area, indicating their riverine origin and initial freshwater residence. After the first regime shift adjacent to natal regions, the Sr level mapping displayed a wide variety of color patterns, and the Sr:Ca ratios obtained by the line transect analysis could be divided into one to six significantly different phases indicative of gradual life history transition. The other three specimens from the Rokkaku River Estuary had high Sr:Ca ratios (3-6.7) at the central otolith area but showed alternating changes between low and high values outside the natal region, suggesting that estuarine-origin individuals occurred in the Rokkaku River Estuary. The two-dimensional maps of the Sr level and average of the otolith Sr:Ca ratios along the life-history transects could be used as effective tools for reconstruction of past habitat use of the tapertail anchovy in estuaries of the Ariake Sea, Japan.