TY - JOUR T1 - Directional Bilateral Asymmetry in Fish Otolith: A Potential Tool to Evaluate Stock Boundaries? A1 - Mahe,Kelig A1 - Mackenzie,Kirsteen A1 - Djamila,Ider A1 - Massaro,Andrea A1 - Hamed,Oussama A1 - Jurado-Ruzafa,Alba A1 - Gonçalves,Patricia A1 - Anastasopoulou,Aikaterini A1 - Jadaud,Angelique A1 - Mytilineou,Chryssi A1 - Randon,Marine A1 - Elleboode,Romain A1 - Morell,Alaia A1 - Ramdane,Zohir A1 - Smith,Joanne A1 - Bekaert,Karen A1 - Amara,Rachid A1 - de Pontual,Helene A1 - Ernande,Bruno AD - IFREMER, Fisheries Laboratory, 150 quai Gambetta, BP 699, 62200 Boulogne-sur-mer, France AD - Laboratoire de Zoologie Appliquée et d’Ecophysiologie Animale, Université Abderrahmane Mira, Béjaïa 06000, Algeria AD - Faculté des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie et des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Bouira, Bouira 10000, Algeria AD - APLYSIA—Via Menichetti 35, 27121 Livorno, Italy AD - Campus Universitaire, Université de Tunis El Manar, El Manar II 2092, Tunisia AD - Centro Oceanográfico de Canarias, Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO, CSIC), 38180 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain AD - Departamento do Mar e dos Recursos Marinhos, Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA), 1495-006 Lisboa, Portugal AD - Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Anavyssos Attiki, 19013 Athens, Greece AD - MARBEC, University Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, 34200 Sète, France AD - Agrocampus Ouest, UMR 985 ESE Ecologie et santé des écosystèmes, 35042 Rennes, France AD - CEFAS, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 0HT, UK AD - ILVO—Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research, Ankerstraat 1, 8400 Oostende, Belgium AD - Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences, Université Littoral Côte d’Opale, University of Lille, CNRS, UMR 8187, LOG, 62930 Wimereux, France AD - IFREMER, Sciences et Technologies Halieutiques, CS 10070, 29280 Plouzané, France AD - MARBEC, University of Montpellier, IFREMER, CNRS, IRD, 34000 Montpellier, France AD - Evolution and Ecology Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria UR - https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00697/80873/ DO - 10.3390/sym13060987 KW - otolith shape KW - side effect KW - Fourier descriptors KW - stock identification KW - Mediterranean Sea KW - Atlantic Ocean KW - common sole KW - bogue N2 - The otolith, found in both inner ears of bony fish, has mainly been used to estimate fish age. Another application that has been developing significantly in recent years, however, is the use of otolith shape as a tool for stock identification. Often, studies have directly used the shape asymmetry between the right and left otoliths. We tested the magnitude of directional asymmetry between the sagittal otoliths (left vs. right) of 2991 individuals according to their catch locations, and we selected species to evaluate whether directional asymmetry may itself be a tool to evaluate stock boundaries. Elliptical Fourier descriptors were used to describe the otolith shape. We used a flatfish, the common sole (Solea solea, n = 2431), from the eastern English Channel and the southern North Sea as well as a roundfish, the bogue (Boops boops, n = 560), from the Mediterranean Sea. Both species showed significant levels of directional asymmetry between the testing locations. The bogue otoliths showed significant asymmetry for only 5 out of 11 locations, with substantial separation between two large areas: the Algerian coast and the western part of the Italian coast. The sole otoliths showed significant asymmetry in the shape analysis (3.84%–6.57%), suggesting a substantial separation between two large areas: the English and French parts of the English Channel and the southern North Sea. Consequently, directional bilateral asymmetry in otolith shape is a potential new method for stock identification. Y1 - 2021/06 PB - MDPI JF - Symmetry-basel SN - 2073-8994 VL - 13 IS - 6 ID - 80873 ER -