Article: CYNTHIA JONES OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY BIOLOGY PROFESSOR.(PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS)

Byline: Deborah Markham

Cynthia Jones, a professor of biology at Old Dominion University, studies fish ears.

That's right, you heard correctly, fish ears.

Known as the otolith, the internal ``ear'' is a small chalk-like stone that gives fish their hearing and balance. With these stones, Jones can tell how old a fish is by cutting the stone and counting the rings - just like trees.

By studying the trace elements found in the otolith, Jones can also determine where the fish came from.

Jones studies fish from around the world that range from longer than 3 feet to as small as a one-quarter inch.

``You can't drink too much coffee before you start cutting a ...

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