Trophic position of deep-sea fish—Assessment through fatty acid and stable isotope analyses

Stowasser, Gabriele; McAllen, Rob; Pierce, Graham J.; Collins, Martin A.; Moffat, Colin F.; Priede, Imants George; Pond, David W.

doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2008.12.016

Cited by 70 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…In the present study, the lipid content of mesopelagic fish was >30% (Table 2), similar to the content reported for mesopelagic fish of the Southern Ocean, but higher than that reported for freshwater and coastal fish (Stowasser et al, 2009a;Hoffman et al, 2010). A high lipid content enables mesopelagic fish to easily adapt to daily vertical migrations (Catul et al, 2011;Davison, 2011;Hudson et al, 2014).…”

Section: Impact Of Lipid Content On Fishsupporting

confidence: 87%

Factors affecting the fatty acid composition of mesopelagic fish of the continental slope in the South China Sea

Wang

Cui

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Study of the ecology of mesopelagic fish is central to assessing the active biological pump in the ocean, especially in the mesopelagic layer. As a consequence of the small size and pressure change, traditional stomach content analysis is not useful for analyzing the feeding behavior of mesopelagic fish. The use of δ 13 C and fatty acid analyses can help to resolve this problem. The mesopelagic fish examined in this study were collected from the continental slope in the north of the South China Sea (SCS), and are compared with nearshore SCS fish and fish collected from the Southern Ocean. The unusually high lipid content of the mesopelagic fish resulted in △δ 13 C values (i.e., the difference in δ 13 C between unextracted and extracted tissues) exceeding 1‰, which is more than the enrichment factor in the food web. Thus, extraction of lipids was conducted prior to δ 13 C isotope analysis for the study of trophic interactions of mesopelagic fish. Compared with other fish, mesopelagic fish had high C18:1n-9/C18:1n-7 and C20:1n-9/ C18:1n-7 ratios, which confirms that plankton is their main dietary source. Diatoms comprise a higher proportion of phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean and a lower proportion in the SCS, and this is reflected in the C20:5n-3/C22:6n-3 (EPA/DHA) ratio in mesopelagic fish in each region. The low EPA/DHA ratio in SCS fish indicates that diatoms are not the main component in the diet of mesopelagic fish. The SCS mesopelagic fish had higher C20:4n-6/C22:6n-3 (ARA/DHA) and C20:4n-6/C20:5n-3 (ARA/EPA) ratios than fish in the SouthernOcean. This result suggests that physical factors (e.g., temperature) also affect the fatty acid composition of these fish, particularly because certain fatty acids enable the fish to better adapt to extreme environmental conditions. Future studies of the synthesis of fatty acids in particular species should take account of both the dietary sources and physical factors in their environment. Keywords: mesopelagic fishes, lipids, δ 13 C, fatty acids, temperature, South China Sea Abstract Study of the ecology of mesopelagic fish is central to assessing the active biological pump in the ocean, especially in the mesopelagic layer. As a consequence of the small size and pressure change, traditional stomach content analysis is not useful for analyzing the feeding behavior of mesopelagic fish. The use of δ 13 C and fatty acid analyses can help to resolve this problem. The mesopelagic fish examined in this study were collected from the continental slope in the north of the South China Sea (SCS), and are compared with nearshore SCS fish and fish collected from the Southern Ocean. The unusually high lipid content of the mesopelagic fish resulted in ∆δ 13 C values (i.e., the difference in δ 13 C between unextracted and extracted tissues) exceeding 1‰, which is more than the enrichment factor in the food web. Thus, extraction of lipids was conducted prior to δ 13 C isotope analysis for the study of trophic interactions of mesopelagic fish.Compared with other fish, mesopelagic fish...

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Section: Impact Of Lipid Content On Fishsupporting

confidence: 87%

Factors affecting the fatty acid composition of mesopelagic fish of the continental slope in the South China Sea

Wang

Cui

et al. 2018

Preprint

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show abstract

“…The FA profiles of Coryphaenoides armatus and C. yaquinae are very similar to those found in other abyssal macrourids and morids including specimens of C. armatus from the northeast Atlantic (Stowasser et al 2009). Despite collections in different years and ocean basins, the FA profiles of C. armatus between the present study and that of Stowasser et al (2009) are similar, with roughly similar proportions of all the major FAs.…”

Section: Macrourid Lipidssupporting

confidence: 55%

“…This difference has been observed in other macrourids and morids (Stowasser et al 2009). This may reflect the large proportions of TAG compared to the PL-dominated muscle tissue ( Table 1).…”

Section: Macrourid Lipidsmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Despite collections in different years and ocean basins, the FA profiles of C. armatus between the present study and that of Stowasser et al (2009) are similar, with roughly similar proportions of all the major FAs. However, the Pacific macrourids have greater proportions of EPA and lower proportions of DHA than the Atlantic specimens.…”

Section: Macrourid Lipidsmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…The FA signatures of swordfish and their prey allowed the detection of regional shifts in the predominance of myctophids versus small squids (Young et al in press). Despite their usefulness, lipid biomarker techniques have only recently been used to examine the trophic ecology of macrourids (Stowasser et al 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lipid composition and diet inferences of abyssal macrourids in the eastern North Pacific

Drazen¹,

Phleger²,

Guest³

et al. 2009

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The lipid compositions of 2 abyssal macrourids, Coryphaenoides armatus and C. yaquinae, from the eastern North Pacific were examined and used to infer diet. The resulting fatty acid (FA) profiles are the first published for C. yaquinae and among the first for abyssal fishes. They indicated a greater proportion of polyunsaturated FAs and lower monounsaturated FAs than shallower living congeners, suggestive of homeoviscous adaptations to great pressure. Cholesterol was the predominant sterol, which is frequently the case for exclusively carnivorous species. Comparisons of macrourid FA profiles were made to those of benthic prey and epipelagic carrion sources, including the Humboldt squid Dosidicus gigas captured in surface waters of the abyssal study site. The FA profiles of macrourid muscle were very similar to those of squid mantle muscle. The FA profiles of macrourid liver and swimbladder were similar to benthic crustaceans, whole squid, squid digestive gland and the epipelagic fish Trachurus symmetricus. For both tissues, the FA profiles of echinoderms were the most different. These comparisons suggest a strong link to carrion and benthic crustaceans and a weak one to echinoderms, the dominant megafauna at the study site and in most of the abyssal ocean. These results support previous stomach content and stable isotope analyses, reinforcing the hypothesis that there are closer food web ties between abyssal fishes and epipelagic nekton than to many abyssal benthic groups. The abyssal grenadier Coryphaenoides armatus feeds predominantly on crustaceans and carrion, and not on echinoderms, which are the most abundant benthic megafauna.

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High‐throughput sequencing and fatty acid profile analyses of the Black Amur bream (Megalobrama terminalis) reveal variation in dietary niche associated with geographic segregation

Liu,

Li,

Chen

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Fish dietary niche is a core focus, and it reflects the diversity of resources, habitats, or environments occupied by a species. However, whether geographic segregation among different populations triggers dietary diversification and concomitant fish niche shift remains unknown. In the present study, we selected the Black Amur bream (Megalobrama terminalis) is a migratory fish species that plays an important role in the material transfer and energy cycling of river ecosystems, inhabiting southern China drainage with multiple geographic populations. Here, we utilized the combined analyses of 18S rDNA high‐throughput sequencing in fish gut contents and fatty acid (FA) in muscle tissues to evaluate potential spatial patterns of habitat and resource use for M. terminalis in three rivers of southern China. Our results showed that prey items of the Xijiang (XR) population (Pearl River) exhibited the highest species diversity and richness among the three geographic populations. Moreover, diet composition of M. terminalis was affected by spatial differences associated with geographic segregation. Analyses of FA biomarkers indicated that the highest levels of C16:0, C18:3n‐3, and C18:2n‐6c were found in Wanquan (WS) population (Wanquan River). The XR population exhibited a distinct FA profile characterized by higher amounts of arachidonic acid (ARA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The Moyang (MY) population (Moyang River) acted as the linkage between WS and XR populations and consisted of middle levels of saturated FAs (SFAs) and polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs). The XR population displayed a greater FA niche width compared with WS population. Furthermore, we observed a close positive relationship between the niche width and α‐diversity indices of dietary resources for FA proflies. Our study provides valued information to develop different conservation strategies among different populations and improve fisheries management for M. terminalis and other endemic species in local rivers.

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Trophic position of deep-sea fish—Assessment through fatty acid and stable isotope analyses

Cited by 70 publications

References 53 publications

Factors affecting the fatty acid composition of mesopelagic fish of the continental slope in the South China Sea

Factors affecting the fatty acid composition of mesopelagic fish of the continental slope in the South China Sea

Lipid composition and diet inferences of abyssal macrourids in the eastern North Pacific

High‐throughput sequencing and fatty acid profile analyses of the Black Amur bream (Megalobrama terminalis) reveal variation in dietary niche associated with geographic segregation

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