eCite Digital Repository
Unexpected shifts in fatty acid composition in response to diet in a common littoral amphipod
Citation
McLeod, RJ and Hyndes, GA and Hurd, CL and Frew, RD, Unexpected shifts in fatty acid composition in response to diet in a common littoral amphipod, Marine Ecology - Progress Series, 479 pp. 1-12. ISSN 0171-8630 (2013) [Refereed Article]
![]() | PDF (final published version) 739Kb |
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2013 Inter-Research
Abstract
To determine whether fatty acid (FA) profiles
are a useful biomarker to trace the flow of material
in a coastal food web, we fed the sandhopper Bellor -
chestia quoyana specific seaweed diets, each with a
contrasting FA profile including Durvillaea antarctica
(Phaeophyta), Ecklonia radiata (Phaeophyta) or Ulva
sp. (Chlorophyta). We then compared changes in FA
composition in relation to diet for this sandhopper. After
12 d, sandhoppers from each treatment had distinct FA
profiles, particularly with respect to polyunsaturated
FAs (PUFAs); however, increases in specific FAs did not
relate to those FAs that were abundant in their diet. For
example, sandhoppers fed PUFA-deficient Ulva sp. exhibited
a relative increase in PUFAs. The E. radiata and
Ulva sp. diets both caused significant shifts in sandhopper
FA composition over the course of the experiment.
In order to follow the assimilation of carbon and FAs,
sandhoppers were fed natural or 13C-enhanced E. radiata
or Ulva sp., and changes to the δ13C of individual
FAs were measured over time. Turnover of the most
abundant FAs, 16:0 and 18:1ω9, was higher for sandhoppers
fed E. radiata than for those fed Ulva sp. Comparisons
between bulk tissue δ13C and δ13C of individual
FAs were consistent with sandhoppers modifying the
turnover rate of FA in response to diet. These findings
suggest that there is no consistent relationship between
the FA compositions of green and brown seaweeds and
that of the sandhopper B. quoyana. We caution that
community-level application of FAs as a dietary biomarker
tool must be accompanied by controlled experiments
incorporating key species of relevance.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Keywords: | stable isotopes, fatty acids, seaweed |
Research Division: | Environmental Sciences |
Research Group: | Climate change impacts and adaptation |
Research Field: | Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation |
Objective Division: | Environmental Policy, Climate Change and Natural Hazards |
Objective Group: | Adaptation to climate change |
Objective Field: | Ecosystem adaptation to climate change |
UTAS Author: | Hurd, CL (Professor Catriona Hurd) |
ID Code: | 89076 |
Year Published: | 2013 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 18 |
Deposited By: | IMAS Research and Education Centre |
Deposited On: | 2014-02-24 |
Last Modified: | 2016-12-22 |
Downloads: | 113 View Download Statistics |
Repository Staff Only: item control page