Dear Group:
Here's our situation.
We are attempting to measure adult Atlantic salmon scales (however, the problem we are experiencing has been encountered with other species). We want to obtain radius (line) and distance to individual circuli (points along the line). We are using an Olympus BX60 compound scope with a COHU video camera and a Flashpoint 128 (4MB) framegrabber. To get the complete scale image onto the screen we are using objective 1.25 with additional magnification of between 1 and 2.
The problem is with the life history of Atlantic salmon. Individual circuli are laid down in conjunction with an individual's growth. Atlantic salmon grow slower in the freshwater environment (first 2 years
of life) than in the marine environment (second two years of life). When the entire scale is displayed on the screen, the marine circuli are
clear, but the freshwater circuli are indistinguishable (due to the small spacing between adjacent circuli). If we are measuring just the freshwater zone, we would usually use objective 4, mag 1-2. This gives us the clarity needed to identify individual circuli. We would like to measure the entire scale using a single transect line
We are looking into purchasing a high resolution digital camera. At first glance, it appears as if the needed resolution will be there. There will be some draw backs though such as cost, the need to work with saved images, and increased CPU power/ processing time (the image files can be quite large. Before we proceed we want to investigate any and all possibilities available. A few months ago we posted to the Optimas (image analysis software) User's List. We received a few good ideas and are looking in to them. They include tiling images together, appending data from two separate images, using a digital microfiche reader, and using a 35 mm slide scanner.
Any help, guidance, and/or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I will post a summary of responses sent directly to me.
Thank you in advance.
-- <<<<>>>< <<<>>>< <<>>< <>< ><> ><<>> ><<<>>> ><<<<>>>> Ruth Haas-Castro, Research Fishery Biologist NMFS/NEFSC 166 Water Street Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA
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