Selective transfer of polyunsaturated fatty acids from phytoplankton to planktivorous fish in large boreal lakes

Strandberg, Ursula; Hiltunen, Minna; Jelkänen, Elli; Taipale, Sami J.; Kainz, Martin J.; Brett, Michael T.; Kankaala, Paula

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.07.010

Cited by 88 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…3), indicating that consumers had higher contents of these fatty acids than primary producers. However, the relationship with ARA and trophic level was weaker than that of EPA and DHA (according to ANCOVA) and fits with the observation that accumulation of ARA depends on season, species, and developmental stage (Hartwich et al 2013) and that ARA may not have a clear relationship with trophic level (Strandberg et al 2015b). This demonstrates that EPA and DHA in particular are progressively retained by aquatic organisms (e.g.…”

Section: Data Synthesissupporting

confidence: 79%

“…4). The predominance of DHA in aquatic organisms as well as the tendency for LNA to decrease going from terrestrial to aquatic food webs has been previously observed (Koussoroplis et al 2008;Strandberg et al 2015b). When LNA and ALA were grouped together, there was an association with terrestrial organisms.…”

Section: Data Synthesismentioning

confidence: 62%

“…Organisms were likely to have different fatty acid profiles when one was a predator and one was the prey, even within the same habitat. Considering that certain fatty acids with high physiological priority are not only conserved, but are often selectively retained and accumulated within a food web, organisms at higher trophic levels often have higher content of these fatty acids (Kainz et al 2004;Koussoroplis et al 2008;Strandberg et al 2015b). For example, fish and algae were one of the most different pairs in the fatty acid data set according to ANOSIM.…”

Section: ) Contain Higher Epa and Dha Contents In Their Muscle Tissumentioning

confidence: 99%

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Production, distribution, and abundance of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids: a fundamental dichotomy between freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems

et al. 2015

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Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) are critical for the health of aquatic and terrestrial organisms; therefore, understanding the production, distribution, and abundance of these compounds is very important. Although the dynamics of LC-PUFA production and distribution in aquatic environments has been well documented, a systematic and comprehensive comparison to LC-PUFA in terrestrial environments has not been rigorously investigated. Here we use a data synthesis approach to compare and contrast fatty acid profiles of 369 aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Habitat and trophic level were interacting factors that determined the proportion of individual omega-3 (n-3) or omega-6 (n-6) PUFA in aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Higher total n-3 content compared with n-6 PUFA and a strong prevalence of the n-3 PUFA eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) characterized aquatic versus terrestrial organisms. Conversely, terrestrial organisms had higher linoleic acid (LNA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) contents than aquatic organisms; however, the ratio of ALA:LNA was higher in aquatic organisms. The EPA + DHA content was higher in aquatic animals than terrestrial organisms, and increased from algae to invertebrates to vertebrates in the aquatic environment. An analysis of covariance revealed that fatty acid composition was highly dependent on the interaction between habitat and trophic level. We conclude that freshwater ecosystems provide an essential service through the production of n-3 LC-PUFA that are required to maintain the health of terrestrial organisms including humans.

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Section: Data Synthesissupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Data Synthesismentioning

confidence: 62%

Section: ) Contain Higher Epa and Dha Contents In Their Muscle Tissumentioning

confidence: 99%

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Production, distribution, and abundance of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids: a fundamental dichotomy between freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems

et al. 2015

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“…(Goedkoop et al, 1998;Sushchik et al, 2003). Our data mirror results of Strandberg et al (2015), suggesting that DHA proportions will increase if provided in diets due to selective retention, and is still a useful dietary indicator. This is especially evident with DHA, where proportions increased when provided, but were retained at original levels when absent in prey.…”

Section: Copepods Versus Mysissupporting

confidence: 76%

Fatty‐acid profiles of juvenile lake trout reflect experimental diets consisting of natural prey

et al. 2016

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Summary It is relatively well‐known that fatty‐acid profiles of consumers reflect their diets. However, with fish, controlled studies that trace fatty‐acid profiles of natural prey into consumers are lacking. We asked whether lake trout (Salmonidae: Salvelinus namaycush) fatty‐acid profiles reflect diets at 4, 8 or 14 weeks after feeding began. We also evaluated if calibration coefficients were similar for each diet, a key assumption of quantitative fatty‐acid signature analysis (QFASA). In this study, juvenile lake trout were fed commercially available frozen diets of chironomids (Chironomidae: Chironomus spp.), copepods (Cyclopoida spp.), or Mysis (Mysidae: Mysis relicta) over a 14‐week period. Accurate classification of lake trout into a priori diet groups was attained after 8 weeks of feeding. Calibration coefficients were significantly different among diet groups, especially for lake trout that were fed chironomids, suggesting that diet‐specific modifications to fatty acids occurred. Chironomid‐fed lake trout grew significantly larger than others despite consuming prey that lacked long‐chain essential fatty acids. Furthermore, chironomid‐fed lake trout provide evidence for the conversion of 18:3n‐3 into longer chain n‐3 fatty acids. Our results call for additional studies to better understand how fatty acids reflect dietary origins prior to employing QFASA on wild freshwater fishes. QFASA could provide accurate diet estimates for freshwater fishes with low‐diversity diet compositions, if calibration coefficients for each predator–prey relationship are incorporated.

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“…However, PUFAs tend to accumulate in planktivorous fish (Strandberg et al, 2015), which are especially rich in docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3), and therefore provide the potential to maintain and store PUFAs that could be available for harvesting by humans or other piscivores.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The emergence of fatty acids—Aquatic insects as vectors along a productivity gradient

et al. 2019

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1. Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems differ fundamentally in the abundance of longchained polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3), which are produced by aquatic algae, but only in low quantities by terrestrial plants. Aquatic insects, such as Chironomidae (non-biting midges) feed on algae during their larval stage, making them rich in EPA and therefore high-quality prey for insectivores after emergence. However, the magnitude of EPA subsidies from aquatic insects may be different among water bodies in response to abiotic (e.g. nutrient load) as well as biotic factors (e.g. food web structure).2. To test the predation effects of crucian carp (Carassius carassius), nutrient concentrations, and Chironomidae community composition on the fatty acid export from aquatic ecosystems, we conducted a 25-day experiment across 20 1,500-L mesocosms covering a total phosphorus (TP) gradient of 20-1,000 µg/L.3. Twice a week, we collected adult emerging Chironomidae and found differences in fatty acid composition in the two most abundant chironomid species emerging from the mesocosms. Two PUFAs, α-linolenic acid and EPA, contributed to most of the variation in Chironomidae fatty acid content across the nutrient gradient.Whereas the proportions of α-linolenic acid were positively correlated to the mesocosm TP concentration, we found a negative correlation for the proportions of Chironomidae EPA and mesocosm TP concentration. However, despite lower biomass-specific EPA content at higher TP, higher biomass of emerging Chironomidae at intermediate TP concentrations resulted in higher total export of PUFAs from water to land. 4. Predation pressure from carp decreased the biomass of emerging Chironomidae on average 8-fold. Chironomidae biomass showed a hump-shaped relationship along the TP-gradient and was strongly influenced by periphyton biomass. 5. Export rates of EPA and fatty acids in general responded in a quadratic manner along the nutrient gradient, reaching a maximum value at a TP of 400 µg/L and decreasing thereafter.

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Selective transfer of polyunsaturated fatty acids from phytoplankton to planktivorous fish in large boreal lakes

Cited by 88 publications

References 51 publications

Production, distribution, and abundance of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids: a fundamental dichotomy between freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems

Production, distribution, and abundance of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids: a fundamental dichotomy between freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems

Fatty‐acid profiles of juvenile lake trout reflect experimental diets consisting of natural prey

The emergence of fatty acids—Aquatic insects as vectors along a productivity gradient

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