Reading an Animal's Age: Five Methods and Their Limits

Nature · Published

Reading an Animal's Age: Five Methods and Their Limits · 1:30 · Intellect Plus

In short: How scientists estimate the ages of named animals, from Greenland shark eye lenses to an albatross's leg band, and the stated limits of each method.

A 1:30 short film in the series “Nature: How Long Can It Live?”, narrated by intellect_voice_01.

Sources used in this film: Oxford University Research Archive (ORA), Bodleian Libraries; accepted manuscript of Nielsen et al. 2016, Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), doi 10.1126/science.aaf1703, “Eye lens radiocarbon reveals centuries of longevity in Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) - ORA”; American Association for the Advancement of Science (Science, 2016), hosted on IUScholarWorks, Indiana University Libraries, “Eye lens radiocarbon reveals centuries of longevity in the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus)”; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (HERO database), indexing George JC et al. 1999, Canadian Journal of Zoology 77: 571-580, “Age and growth estimates of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) via aspartic acid racemization”; International Whaling Commission (Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, Vol. 17, 2017; Wetzel, Reynolds, Mercurio, Givens, Pulster and George), “Age estimation for bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) using aspartic acid racemisation with enhanced hydrolysis and derivatisation procedures”; International Whaling Commission (Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 17: 9–14, 2017; Wetzel, Reynolds, Mercurio, Givens, Pulster and George; Mote Marine Laboratory and North Slope Borough De…, “Layout 1”; Bangor University (School of Ocean Sciences), “Clams reveal secrets of changing marine climate | News and Events”; NOAA Fisheries (Alaska Fisheries Science Center), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, “Determining Age and Growth Through Bomb Radiocarbon Age Validation”; NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC), Age & Growth Program, “Age Validation of Northern Rockfish and Yellowfin Sole with Bomb-Produced 14C”; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Department of the Interior), “Wisdom, the World’s Oldest Known Wild Bird, Returns to Midway Atoll | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service”; U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI News; content by USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and USFWS Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge), archived page dated March 9, 2011, “DOINews: USGS Patuxent, USFWS Midway Atoll: 'She Flies On ... and On ... and On'”.

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