Fish otolith asymmetry: morphometry and modeling

Mathematical modeling suggests that relatively large values of otolith mass asymmetry in fishes can alter acoustic functionality and may be responsible for abnormal fish behavior when subjected to weightlessness during parabolic or space flight [D.V. Lychakov, Y.T. Rebane, Otolith mass asymmetry in 18 species of fish and pigeon, J. Grav. Physiol. 11 (3) (2004) 17-34; D.V. Lychakov, Y.T. Rebane, Fish otolith mass asymmetry: morphometry and influence on acoustic functionality, Hear. Res. 201 (2005) 55-69]. The results of morphometric studies of otolith mass asymmetry suppose that the absolute value and the sign of the otolith mass asymmetry can change many times during the growth of individual fish within the range +/-20% [D.V. Lychakov, Y.T. Rebane, Otolith mass asymmetry in 18 species of fish and pigeon, J. Grav. Physiol. 11 (3) (2004) 17-34; D.V. Lychakov, Y.T. Rebane, Fish otolith mass asymmetry: morphometry and influence on acoustic functionality, Hear. Res. 201 (2005) 55-69]. This implies that the adverse effects of otolith asymmetry on acoustic and vestibular functionality could change during the lifetime of an individual fish. The aims of the present article were to examine the nature of otolith mass asymmetry fluctuation and to quantify otolith mass asymmetry in a large number of teleost fishes to verify our previous measurements. A dimensionless measure of otolith mass asymmetry, chi, was calculated as the difference between the masses of the right and left paired otoliths divided by average otolith mass. Saccular otolith mass asymmetry was studied in 59 Mediterranean teleost species (395 otolith pairs), 14 Black Sea teleost species (42 otolith pairs), red drum (196 otolith pairs) and guppy (30 otolith pairs). Utricular otolith mass asymmetry was studied in carp (103 otolith pairs) and goldfish (45 otolith pairs). In accordance with our previous results the value of chi did not depend on fish size (length or mass), systematic or ecological position of the fish, or otolith growth rate. In the great majority of the fishes studied, the saccular otolith chi was small /chi/ <0.05 (or <5%). Mathematical modeling indicates that values of chi vary among individual fish, but that the value is probably stable during a fish's lifetime.