Quantitative estimation of dragonfly role in transfer of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems

The role of water bugs (Heteroptera) as a potential source of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids for terrestrial consumers in steppe and forest-steppe

“…The EPA content per unit mass of adult water bugs and larvae was, in general, comparable to that in other groups of amphibiotic insects with complete meta morphosis [5][6][7][8]. In contrast to EPA, the content of DHA in water bugs of the genera Sigara and Para corixa was maximal among the values known for amphibiotic insects.…”

“…Apparently, the amount of PUFAs transferred to the land in differ ent climatic zones and landscapes is determined by the amount of the biomass of insects emerged per year and the content of PUFAs at the adult stage. It is known that the fatty acid composition of aquatic inverte brates, including the content of PUFAs, is largely determined by their phylogenetic affiliation [5].The fatty acid composition of the members of the order of insects with complete metamorphosis, such as Diptera, Trichoptera, Ephemeroptera, and Odonata has been studied in most detail [6][7][8]. These taxo nomic groups of amphibiotic insects bring to the land significant amounts of EPA, whereas the content of DHA in them is negligible.…”

“…To estimate the abundance and taxonomic composition, water bugs were collected using a standard dip net and/or a bio cenometer [10]. The collection and primary process ing of the samples of water bugs for the analysis of the fatty acid composition, moisture, and organic carbon content were performed as described previously for samples of dragonflies and mosquitoes [6,7]. The analysis of fatty acids by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was described in detail in [5].…”

Comparison of fatty acid contents and composition in major lipid classes of larvae and adults of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) from a steppe region

“…Besides carbon (energy) and inorganic nutrients (e.g., nitrogen), emerging aquatic insects are known to transfer to terrestrial ecosystems specific biochemicals, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (Gladyshev et al ., , ). It is well known that PUFA of n‐3 family with 18–22 carbon atoms (C18–C22) are essential for the many consumers, including humans, because they cannot be synthesized de novo by them (Arts et al ., ; Garg et al ., ).…”

Estimation of the carry-over of substances by dragonflies from water bodies to land in the forest-steppe of West Siberia

“…Only some microalgae are capable of synthesizing long-chain PUFA [12] and transport of these substances to land takes place with flight of amphibiont insects, including dragonflies. It follows from our calculations that the flow of PUFA with the biomass of dragonflies from aquatic ecosystems to terrestrial ones amounted to 6.9 mg´m 2´y ear -1 [13]. Average global estimation of PUFA flow to land owing to flight of amphibiont insects varies from 2.5 to 11.8 mg´m -2ý ear -1 [11].…”