Ontogenic variations in fatty acid and alcohol composition of the pelagic amphipod Themisto libellula in Kongsfjorden (Svalbard)

• Published in: Marine Biology
• Main Authors: Noyon, Margaux, Narcy, Fanny, Gasparini, Stephane, Mayzaud, Patrick
• Other Authors: Ocean Sciences & Marine Food Security Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Laboratoire d'océanographie de Villefranche (LOV), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de la Mer de Villefranche (IMEV), Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire d'Histoire des Sciences et de Philosophie - Archives Henri Poincaré (LHSP), Université de Lorraine (UL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Observatoire océanologique de Villefranche-sur-mer (OOVM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2012
• Subjects: [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography; Arctic; Svalbard; Kongsfjord*; Kongsfjorden; Themisto; Themisto libellula
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03502674; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1856-7

The fatty acid and alcohol composition of the pelagic amphipod, Themisto libellula, was monitored during the 5 first months of its life cycle (4-20 mm length) in an Arctic fjord, Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. Fatty acids of the three major lipid classes, polar lipids (PL), triacylglycerol (TAG), and wax esters (WE), were analyzed to highlight ontogenic changes in their diet and metabolism. The PL composition of T. libellula did not show any strong variations along their growth except during the first month where an important increase of 20:5(n-3) (EPA) and 22:6(n-3) (DHA) was observed. The TAG composition revealed a clear gradient corresponding to a diet shift from omnivorous juveniles toward carnivorous sub-adults and adults. Indeed, fatty acid trophic markers of diatoms were dominant in the juveniles, whereas 20:1(n-9) and 22:1(n-11), the Calanus sp. trophic markers, overwhelmed in the older stages. The WE composition highlighted the same general trend, however, differences were found with the TAG and are discussed as a result of differences in turnover rates and assimilation pathways between the two lipid classes.