Statolith chemistry of two life history stages of cuttlefish: Effects of temperature and seawater trace element concentration

The influence of seawater trace element concentration and temperature on statolith chemistry of the giant Australian cuttlefish, Sepia apama, was compared between encapsulated embryos and recently hatched juveniles under controlled laboratory conditions. Seawater Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca were positively related to statolith Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca in embryos and hatchlings for all temperatures. For statoliths of embryos the effect of spiking increased at 14 °C compared to 20 °C but for hatchlings increased Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios in statoliths were found at 20 °C compared to 14 °C. The results imply that the influence of seawater trace element concentration and temperature on statolith chemistry was driven by elemental discrimination as described by partition coefficients but was reversed between life history stages. Differences in respiration and haemocyanin between the two life history stages may influence elemental uptake and discrimination. Thus, the results of the present study indicate that differences in element uptake in statoliths can occur among life history stages of S. apama and must be considered when reconstructing environmental histories of S. apama and other statolith bearing organisms.