Sclerochronology

by

C. Fred T. Andrus

• LAST MODIFIED: 24 July 2024
• DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199830060-0255

Introduction

Sclerochronology is the study of time-series data derived from accretionary hard tissues, such as shells and other skeletal elements. Sclerochronological data are useful to interpret the life history of organisms, infer ecological changes, and assess past environmental conditions. Such data may include growth rate and/or periodicity records from measurements of increments, but the process also frequently involves sequential biogeochemical analyses, sometimes called sclerochemistry, that can often be aligned with calendar years. The periodicity of growth may vary across multiple timescales, and include tidal, daily, fortnightly, monthly, seasonal, and annual patterns, among others. The duration of these records varies extensively, ranging from sub-seasonal to millennial scales, and can be expanded with the use of cross-dating. The studied tissues are most often mineralized and biologically inert after initial precipitation, such as calcium carbonate skeletons of corals, fish otoliths, or mollusks, but can include other skeletal elements, such as bone, which may be biologically remodeled during the life of the organism. Sclerochronology is analogous to dendrochronology, sharing an emphasis on time-series analysis of growth and the factors that affect growth rates, but often places a greater emphasis on chemical data due to the properties of calcium carbonate, one of the most common skeletal materials. Isotopic and elemental composition of calcium carbonate biominerals can yield insight into biological and environmental conditions throughout ontogeny. The durability of the tissues permits analysis of fossil, archaeological, and museum-archived samples to aid reconstruction of past ecological and environmental conditions. Application of this method can be a useful tool in fisheries management, assessment of anthropogenic impacts to habitats, and measurement of the effects of climate change, in addition to addressing fundamental questions relating to organism age, growth rate and periodicity, life history, and environmental variation across multiple timescales. Sclerochronology is thus linked to several disciplines such as biology, ecology, paleoclimatology, paleontology, archaeology, and biomineralogy. The bibliography begins with publications of relatively broad interdisciplinary significance, followed by subsequent sections organized based on the different organisms and their skeletal elements amendable to sclerochronological study. In general, methodological and review papers are included more frequently than particular applications.

General Overviews and Review Articles

Practitioners of sclerochronology often focus their research on only a few organisms; thus most of the review papers in this section are restricted to certain taxonomic groups. However, the underlying principles related to fundamental growth patterns and periodicity are widely shared so these reviews may offer some valuable information regardless of the particular taxon in question. Trofimova, et al. 2020 may be a good starting point because it takes a community-based approach to defining emerging directions of sclerochronology research in diverse taxa, including topics central to the basic understanding of skeletal growth and biomineralogy, and include applications spanning ecology, paleontology, archaeology, and other fields. Peharda, et al. 2021 is a similarly broad paper and offers a diverse survey of the field, including many methodologies and applications. Carilli, et al. 2015 focuses on applications related to tracking anthropogenic pollution, which is a growing area of interest. Laptikhovsky, et al. 2018 covers more traditional sclerochronological topics of age and growth studies in a broad range of organisms, Butler, et al. 2019 describes bivalve sclerochronology within a context of interpreting ecological goods and services. Haag and Rypel 2011 describes long-lived freshwater mussels for growth increment analysis relevant to aquatic ecology. Morrongiello, et al. 2012 explores applications of sclerochronology to issues related to climate change such as how organisms’ growth patterns may change due to current and future anthropologic impacts to temperature. Past climate change, along with its impacts on organisms’ growth records, is also a common application of sclerochronology within the context of paleontology as discussed by Schöne and Surge 2012 and Surge and Schöne 2015.

• Butler, P. G., P. S. Freitas, M. Burchell, and L. Chauvaud. 2019. Archaeology and sclerochronology of marine bivalves. In Goods and services of marine bivalves. Edited by A. C. Smaal, J. G. Ferreira, J. Grant, J. K. Petersen, and Ø. Strand, 413–444. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Open.

  DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-96776-9_21

  Analysis of goods and services is increasingly used to illustrate the practical impact of organisms and ecosystems to humanity, and this chapter takes this approach focusing on the sclerochronology of ancient bivalves.

• Carilli, J., B. Williams, B. R. Schöne, R. A. Krause, and S. J. Fallon. 2015. Historical contaminant records from sclerochronological archives. In Environmental contaminants: Using natural archives to track sources and long-term trends of pollution. Edited by H. J. B. Birks, M. R. Rosen, and J. P. Smol, 355–391. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.

  This chapter focuses on how sclerochronology can be useful in tracing environmental contaminants, but also provides a broad overview of fundamental properties of skeletal growth in a diverse array of taxa.

• Haag, W. R., and A. L. Rypel. 2011. Growth and longevity in freshwater mussels: Evolutionary and conservation implications. Biological Reviews 86.1: 225–247.

  DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-185X.2010.00146.x

  A detailed and through survey of sclerochronological data from freshwater mussel shells useful for reconstructing growth rates and patterns.

• Laptikhovsky, V. V., C. J. Barrett, and P. R. Hollyman. 2018. From coral reefs to whale teeth: Estimating mortality from natural accumulations of skeletal materials. Marine Ecology Progress Series 598:273–291.

  DOI: 10.3354/meps12260

  A broad survey of techniques and applications across a range of organisms and skeletal elements centered on determining age at death.

• Morrongiello, J. R., R. E. Thresher, and D. C. Smith. 2012. Aquatic biochronologies and climate change. Nature Climate Change 2.12: 849–857.

  DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1616

  A useful overview of the utility and challenges of applying sclerochronology to explore records of climate change and its effects. This paper includes a wide variety of taxa and methods.

• Peharda, M., B. R. Schöne, B. A. Black, and T. Correge. 2021. Advances of sclerochronology research in the last decade. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 570:110371.

  DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110371

  This is a temporally, taxonomically, geographically, and methodologically broad review of recent sclerochronological research and contains a list of other earlier review articles.

• Schöne, B. R., and D. M. Surge. 2012. Part N, Revised, Volume 1, Chapter 14: Bivalve sclerochronology and geochemistry. Treatise Online 46:1–24.

  Inclusive and thorough survey of methods and theory of sclerochronology and sclerochemistry in bivalve mollusks focused on paleontological applications.

• Surge, D. M., and B. R. Schöne. 2015. Bivalve sclerochronology. In Encyclopedia of scientific dating methods. Edited by W. J. Rink, J. W. Thompson, L. M. Heaman, A. J. T. Jull, and J. B. Paces, 108–115. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: SpringerReference.

  DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-6304-3_165

  A concise explanation of sclerochronology, focusing on mollusks, in the context of age dating. A useful fundamental guide to bivalve and general sclerochronology. It could be particularly valuable for those new to the field.

• Trofimova, T., S. J. Alexandroff, M. J. Mette, et al. 2020. Fundamental questions and applications of sclerochronology: Community-defined research priorities. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 245:106977.

  DOI: 10.1016/j.ecss.2020.106977

  A research community-based assessment of key questions pertaining to sclerochronology across different disciplines and taxa.