Dr Tormey Reimer
Publications
Here I’ll be collecting written pieces that I’ve published in peer-reviewed journals or news outlets. If you’re looking for details of a talk I’ve given at a conference, please contact me.
Peer-reviewed articles
High prevalence of vaterite in sagittal otoliths causes hearing impairment in farmed fish
Tormey Reimer, Tim Dempster, Fletcher Warren-Myers, Arne J. Jensen, Stephen E. Swearer
Scientific Reports, 2016
The rapid growth of aquaculture raises questions about the welfare status of mass-produced species. Sagittal otoliths are primary hearing structures in the inner ear of all teleost (bony) fishes and are normally composed of aragonite, though abnormal vaterite replacement is sometimes seen in the wild. We provide the first widespread evaluation of the prevalence of vaterite in otoliths, showing that farmed fish have levels of vaterite replacement over 10 times… Read more
Rapid growth causes abnormal vaterite formation in farmed fish otoliths
Tormey Reimer, Tim Dempster, Anna Wargelius, Per Gunnar Fjelldal, Tom Hansen, Kevin A. Glover, Monica F. Solberg, Stephen E. Swearer
Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2017
Sagittal otoliths are essential components of the sensory organs that enable all teleost fish to hear and maintain balance, and are primarily composed of calcium carbonate. A deformity, where aragonite (the normal crystal form) is replaced with vaterite, was first noted over 50 years ago but its underlying cause is unresolved. We evaluated the prevalence of vateritic otoliths from two captive rearing studies which suggested that fast growth, due to environmental… Read more
Other media
Listen up: many farmed fish are hard of hearing – here’s why it matters
Tim Dempster, Stephen E. Swearer, Tormey Reimer
The Conversation, May 3, 2016
The swift rise of aquaculture as a major supplier of protein to the world is a remarkable story of rapid domestication of marine and freshwater animals.
Just a few years ago, the world produced more tonnage of farmed fish than it did beef. With billions of farmed fish now in production systems, the lives fish lead and their welfare status have… Read more