Mateo et al.: Otolith chemistry for Tautoga onitis in Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island coastal ponds 
161 
techniques (Campana, 1999; Campana et al., 2000); and 
2) solution-based techniques can provide more precise 
natural tags on fish with limited movement within habi- 
tats during their first year of life. For example, tautog 
have a short larval period of 15 to 20 days (Sogard et 
al., 1992; Dorf and Powell 1997) and once larvae have 
settled, they have small home range of approximately 
20 meters (Able et al., 2005) during their first year of 
life. Thus, juvenile cores samples from age classes rep- 
resenting fish born in 2005 and 2006 could be extracted 
by micromilling procedures and their chemical elements 
can be analyzed by solution ICPMS. Present results are 
a step towards establishing juvenile movement to adult 
habitats, which must be examined in nursery studies 
(Beck et al., 2001). Identifying links between juvenile 
and adult habitats, and understanding connectivity 
between estuarine nurseries and adult populations, 
has the potential to aid fishery managers and aid in 
the management and conservation of estuarine fish 
nursery habitats. 
Acknowledgments 
We would like to thank C. Powell, M. Burnett, and B. 
Murphy from RIDEM; as well as P. Stout from Camp 
Fuller, and R. Dickau from Pond Shore Association for 
helping to collect fish. Special thanks go to B. Taplin, R. 
Pruell and the late L. Meng from U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, and to K. Castro from University of 
Rhode Island Sea Grant Fisheries Extension for support 
and inspiration for this project. This study was funded 
through University of Rhode Island Sea Grant Program 
and the Nature Conservancy Global Marine Initiative. 
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