Fatty acid composition of wild Odontesthes bonariensis (Valenciennes 1835) larvae: implications on lipid metabolism and trophic relationships

The fatty acid composition of the pejerrey Odontesthes bonariensis larvae was studied to elucidate potential dietary relationships. Their principal fatty acids were characteristic for membrane lipids of aquatic organisms. The fatty acid composition varied little throughout seasons, with high proportions of 22 : 6(n-3) (27% of total fatty acids), which is biosynthesized de novo from dietary precursor fatty acids and/or accumulated from the diet. Other major fatty acids were 16 : 0 and 18 : 0. The diatom-typical 16 : 1(n-7) and other dietary fatty acids (zooplankton and microplankton) are not reflected in the larvae, thus limiting the use of fatty acids as trophic markers for food web relationships of atherinopsids.Fil: Kopprio, Germán Adolfo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía; ArgentinaFil: Graeve, Martín. Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research; AlemaniaFil: Kattner, Gerhard. Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology; AlemaniaFil: Lara, Ruben Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía; Argentina. Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology; Alemani