Fatty acid accumulation in feeding types of a natural freshwater fish population
- Fatty acids are widely used to study trophic interactions in food web assemblages. Generally, it is assumed that there is a very small modification of fatty acids from one trophic step to another, making them suitable as trophic biomarkers. However, recent literature provides evidence that many fishes possess genes encoding enzymes with a role in bioconversion, thus the capability for bioconversion might be more widespread than previously assumed. Nonetheless, empirical evidence for biosynthesis occurring in natural populations remains scarce. In this study, we investigated different feeding types of perch (Perca fluviatilis) that are specialized on specific resources with different levels of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs), and analyzed the change between HUFA proportions in perch muscle tissue compared to their resources. Perch showed matching levels to their resources for EPA, but ARA and especially DHA were accumulated. Compound-specific stable isotope analyses helped us to identify the origin of HUFA carbon. Our resultsFatty acids are widely used to study trophic interactions in food web assemblages. Generally, it is assumed that there is a very small modification of fatty acids from one trophic step to another, making them suitable as trophic biomarkers. However, recent literature provides evidence that many fishes possess genes encoding enzymes with a role in bioconversion, thus the capability for bioconversion might be more widespread than previously assumed. Nonetheless, empirical evidence for biosynthesis occurring in natural populations remains scarce. In this study, we investigated different feeding types of perch (Perca fluviatilis) that are specialized on specific resources with different levels of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs), and analyzed the change between HUFA proportions in perch muscle tissue compared to their resources. Perch showed matching levels to their resources for EPA, but ARA and especially DHA were accumulated. Compound-specific stable isotope analyses helped us to identify the origin of HUFA carbon. Our results suggest that perch obtain a substantial amount of DHA via bioconversion when feeding on DHA-poor benthic resources. Thus, our data indicate the capability of bioconversion of HUFAs in a natural freshwater fish population.…
Author details: | Inga Kristin ScharnweberORCiDGND, Fernando ChaguacedaORCiD, Peter EklövORCiD |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-021-04913-y |
ISSN: | 0029-8549 |
ISSN: | 1432-1939 |
Pubmed ID: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33900451 |
Title of parent work (English): | Oecologia / in cooperation with the International Association for Ecology, Intecol |
Publisher: | Springer |
Place of publishing: | Berlin ; Heidelberg [u.a.] |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2021/04/25 |
Publication year: | 2021 |
Release date: | 2024/04/25 |
Tag: | Bioconversion; Compound-specific stable isotope analysis; Docosahexaenoic acid; Fatty acid conversion; Trophic upgrading |
Volume: | 196 |
Issue: | 1 |
Number of pages: | 11 |
First page: | 53 |
Last Page: | 63 |
Funding institution: | Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundationKnut & Alice Wallenberg Foundation [KAW 502 2013.0091] |
Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Biochemie und Biologie |
DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 57 Biowissenschaften; Biologie / 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie |
5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 59 Tiere (Zoologie) / 590 Tiere (Zoologie) | |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Publishing method: | Open Access / Hybrid Open-Access |
License (German): | CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |