The elemental composition of mineralized vertebral cartilage has proven useful for reconstructing the movement and environmental history of elasmobranchs. However, the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on vertebral chemistry have not been well explored, making meaningful interpretations of results difficult. This study quantified trace element incorporation along the corpus calcareum of 116 Round Stingray (Urobatis halleri) vertebrae and explored the influence of intrinsic (i.e., sex) and extrinsic (i.e., location and year) factors on vertebral edge chemical variations. We quantified eight element/Ca ratios (Li/Ca, Mg/Ca, Mn/Ca, Co/Ca, Cu/Ca, Zn/Ca, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca) by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Behavioral sexual segregation by Round Stingrays explained differences found in Mn/Ca, Zn/Ca, Sr/Ca, and Ba/Ca ratios. Higher vertebral Mn/Ca and Zn/Ca in females likely originate from the use of salt marsh habitats as a refuge as well as higher reproductive hormone concentrations during gestation, respectively. Female and male Round Stingrays were also found to have an inverse relationship between Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca, likely due to environmental differences (e.g., temperature) between their sexually segregated habitats. This study demonstrates how multielement signatures in vertebral cartilage may improve understanding of habitat use and migration throughout life and advances the development of biomineral usage as an environmental proxy in elasmobranchs.

矿化椎骨软骨的元素组成已被证明可用于重建软骨鱼的运动和环境历史。然而，内在和外在因素对椎体化学的影响尚未得到很好的探索，这使得对结果进行有意义的解释变得困难。本研究量化了 116 条圆黄貂鱼 ( Urobatis Halleri)钙体中微量元素的掺入情况）椎骨并探讨了内在（即性别）和外在（即位置和年份）因素对椎骨边缘化学变化的影响。我们通过激光烧蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱 (LA) 定量了八种元素/Ca 比率（Li/Ca、Mg/Ca、Mn/Ca、Co/Ca、Cu/Ca、Zn/Ca、Sr/Ca、Ba/Ca）。 -ICP-MS）。圆黄貂鱼的行为性别隔离解释了锰/钙、锌/钙、锶/钙和钡/钙比率的差异。雌性椎骨中较高的锰/钙和锌/钙可能分别源于使用盐沼栖息地作为避难所以及妊娠期间较高的生殖激素浓度。雌性和雄性圆黄貂鱼还被发现 Sr/Ca 和 Ba/Ca 之间存在反比关系，这可能是由于其性别隔离栖息地之间的环境差异（例如温度）所致。