Data from: Field metabolic rates of teleost fishes are recorded in otolith carbonate

Field metabolic rate (FMR) is key to understanding individual and population-level responses to environmental changes, but is challenging to measure in field conditions, particularly in aquatic environments. Here we show that FMR can be estimated directly from the isotopic composition of carbon in fish otoliths (δ13Coto). We describe the relationship between δ13Coto values and oxygen consumption rate, and report results from laboratory experiments relating individual-level measurements of oxygen consumption rates to δ13Coto values in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). We apply our new δ13Coto metabolic proxy to existing δ13Coto data from wild cod and four deepwater fish species to test the validity of inferred FMR estimates. The δ13Coto metabolic proxy offers a new approach to study physiological ecology in free-ranging wild fishes. Otolith-based proxies for FMR are particularly promising as they allow retrospective assessment of time-integrated, individual-level FMR throughout an individual fish's life history.野外代谢率（field metabolic rate, FMR）是解析个体与种群水平对环境变化响应的核心指标，但在野外条件下难以直接测定，尤其是在水生环境中。本研究表明，可直接通过鱼类耳石中的碳同位素组成（δ¹³Coto）估算FMR。本研究阐明了δ¹³Coto数值与耗氧率之间的关联，并报道了针对大西洋鳕（Gadus morhua）开展的室内实验结果，该实验将个体水平的耗氧率测定值与δ¹³Coto数值相关联。本研究将新型δ¹³Coto代谢代用指标应用于野生大西洋鳕及4种深水鱼类的已有δ¹³Coto数据集，以验证推断得到的FMR估算值的有效性。δ¹³Coto代谢代用指标为研究自由活动野生鱼类的生理生态学提供了全新途径。基于耳石的FMR代用指标尤其具有应用前景，因为其可回溯评估鱼类整个生活史中时间整合的个体水平FMR。