ABSTRACT
Introduction A number of temperate sh species become dormant during winter months [1]. During this time the sh remain inactive, cease feeding, and reduce protein synthesis and growth [2], [3]. However, dormancy in sh is thought to signicantly dier from obligatory hibernating vertebrates [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]. is is because the reduction in metabolism during winter correlates with the declining water temperature and can be overturned by temperature reversal [4], [5], [6]. Recent studies have found that otoliths from Antarctic Notothenioid sh display distinct growth annuli [7], [8], demonstrating that they too have seasonal variations in growth. e cessation of growth by Notothenioids during winter months appears paradoxical, because the Antarctic marine environment is considered one of the most thermally stable regimes on the planet [9] and these sh are often demersal omnivores living in shallow productive waters, where suitable prey are available all year round [10], [11], [12].
