Reproductive and feeding spatial dynamics of the black scabbardfish, Aphanopus carbo Lowe, 1839, in NE Atlantic inferred from fatty acid and stable isotope analyses

• Published in: Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers
• Main Authors: Farias, Inês, Figueiredo, Ivone, Janeiro, Ana Isabel, Bandarra, Narcisa Maria, Batista, Irineu, Morales-Nin, Beatriz
• Other Authors: European Commission, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Pergamon Press 2014
• Subjects: Aphanopus carbo; Diet; Fatty acids; NE Atlantic; Reproductive cycle; Stable isotopes; Lowe; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/123416; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2014.04.010; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000780; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871

The black scabbardfish (Aphanopus carbo) is a benthopelagic species widely distributed across the NE Atlantic, where it is admitted to perform a clockwise migration throughout its life cycle stimulated by feeding and reproduction. To overcome the limitations of direct observation of this species, fatty acids profile (FA) and δ15N and δ13C stable isotopes (SI) were analyzed in the muscle tissue of the black scabbardfish and related with diet and maturity. Specimens were collected in four geographic areas in the NE Atlantic: Iceland, the west of the British Isles, mainland Portugal, and Madeira. For all areas, the FA profile was related with the different phases of the reproductive cycle and with diet, whereas the SI were related with diet, environmental characteristics, such as latitude and depth, and particulate organic matter (POM). Stomach content of black scabbardfish caught off mainland Portugal was analyzed and the most frequent prey item identified was the lophogastrid crustacean Gnathophausia zoea, followed by the cephalopod Mastigotheutis spp. and the teleost Rouleina maderensis. For specimens from Iceland and the west of the British Isles, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) were the most important FA, followed by polyunsaturated (PUFA) and saturated FA (SFA), whereas for specimens from mainland Portugal and from Madeira the sequences were PUFA>MUFA>SFA and PUFA>SFA>MUFA, respectively. Immature specimens from the first three areas were found to be accumulating oleic acid which is an intermediate product of the metabolic pathway that transforms SFA to MUFA and these into PUFA. Specimens caught off Madeira were mature and showed a significant prevalence of ARA and DHA which are PUFA with an important role in reproduction. δ15N was significantly higher in the muscle of black scabbardfish from Madeira, whereas δ13C was significantly lower in specimens from Iceland. The low isotopic ratios as well as the prevalence of certain fatty acid trophic markers (FATM) connected specimens from Iceland with ...