Research Institute for Humanity and Nature
Collagen is a protein found widely in almost all cells of animals, and scientifically can be used to learn much about an animal’s life history including human being in the present or in the past. Scientists at the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) and Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency (FRA), Japan, prove this point for Japanese flounder by measuring isotope ratios in vertebral-bone collagen. The new study, which can be read in Marine Biology, shows that there exist behavioral groups of fish with different migrating and/or feeding patterns.
A school of fish will decide their habitat on fundamental needs for survival, such as food availability and safety for reproduction and nursing offspring. Multiple methods have been applied for tracing fish movement, such as telemetry, tagging or analysis of otolith. Examining the stable isotope ratios in several body parts, however, provides unique insights on fish life history.