MEPS 598:273-291 (2018)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12260

ABSTRACT: Estimation of natural and anthropogenic (fishing, hunting) mortality is the key problem in studies of population dynamics. Numerous theoretical approaches were developed in environmental sciences to find a solution based on information that could be obtained from live representatives of populations of interest. We review the alternative methods used by marine biologists, palaeontologists and zoo-archaeologists to estimate natural and anthropogenic mortality from age-registering structures of the different taxa (corals, molluscs, fishes and mammals) collected in thanatocoenoses and containing information about the exact individual age-at-death. Not all approaches and techniques are transferrable from one field to another because they were elaborated for organisms with different morphologies and ecologies, but cross-fertilisation of ideas presented in this review might provide a new insight into studies related to population dynamics.

KEY WORDS: Age-registering structures · Mortality · Mollusc · Coral reef · Fish · Marine mammals

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Cite this article as: Laptikhovsky VV, Barrett CJ, Hollyman PR (2018) From coral reefs to whale teeth: estimating mortality from natural accumulations of skeletal materials. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 598:273-291. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12260 Export citation Share:    Facebook - - linkedIn