The red snapper Lutjanus campechanus is an important recreational and commercial fish species in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Management approaches have varied in part because of uncertainty of their longevity. Snapper ages have been based on presumed otolith annuli; however, this methodology has not been validated for all age classes. A recent technique to validate otolith age utilizes the increase in oceanic 14C resulting from atmospheric testing of nuclear bombs during the 1950s and 1960s. Analyses of annuli from living corals and fish otoliths from 1900 to the present have documented that elevated 14C input has occurred throughout the world's oceans. We validated otolith section age estimates through accelerator mass spectrometry analysis of bomb‐produced 14C in red snapper (otoliths) hatched before, during, and after the nuclear testing periods. Delta 14C data from the otoliths of red snapper with presumed birth dates between 1960 and 1973 clearly reflect the sharp increase in oceanic radiocarbon attributable to previous nuclear testing. Similarities between the otolith and nearby coral △14C chronologies suggest that annulus‐based age estimates of red snapper are valid on average to within 1–3 yr. In addition, this study provides the first carbonate bomb radiocarbon time series from the northern Gulf of Mexico.

IS ABSTRACT (Continue on7 reverie it necessary~ ardidenify 0oi 040ck numoer) "" .Three adult females of various ages and one juvenile are represented in the osteological material recovered from site 25HN118. No absolute dates were calculated for this site.-~ Mortuary practices inferred for site 25HNIIS are compared to those of the Valley and Keith focus of the Plains Woodland tradition. Differences in the amount of grave offerings and the frequencies of certain bone elements are an im 'portant indicator of cultural affiliation. The remains of an individual male were recovered from site 25HN174. This site has been radiocarbon dated at 1600 @jllO years before present. 20. 0isTRi3UTION/AvAILAEILI7Y OF ABSTRACT 21. ABSTRACT, SjcURIT'Y CLASSIFICATION C UNCLASSIFE0AJNLiMITED fY n SAME AS RPT C] DTIC USERS Unclassi fied ZTa. NAMr OF ;?SPONSBLE INDIVIDUAL 22t). TE_ 4N (Inciuae Area Code) 22C. OFFICE SYMBOL Planning-Division. Envir-rimental Res. Rr (Pi6) 426-34.02 1 voan-o CC) Form 1473, JUN 86

No abstract