Reading the Sharks bar-code: Sclerochronology of elasmobranch vertebrae through in-situ elemental and isotopic techniques.

Sharks are a fundamentally misunderstood yet vital link in the oceanic ecosystem. Sharkvertebrae, chronological structures with growth rings like trees, are a largely untappedresource in unravelling their life histories. Through in situ analytical approaches, this projectaims to assess age and growth, environmental conditions, diet and metabolic changes formany individuals, and many species, to create a statistically sound framework, to expandupon and complement observational data. In the last decade, technological advances inhigh throughput analytical tools have developed rapidly, and these techniques are beingapplied to teleosts (fish) with great success. Logically, applying these techniques to sharkvertebrae is the next step.