Resource polymorphism in European whitefish: analysis of fatty acid profiles provides more detailed evidence than traditional methods alone
Resource polymorphism—whereby ancestral generalist populations give rise to several specialised morphs along a resource gradient—is common where species colonise newly formed ecosystems. This phenomenon is particularly well documented in freshwater fish populations inhabiting postglacial lakes forme...
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fteawag:oai:dora:eawag_19732 2024-09-09T19:40:04+00:00 Resource polymorphism in European whitefish: analysis of fatty acid profiles provides more detailed evidence than traditional methods alone Thomas, Stephen M. Kainz, Martin J. Amundsen, Per-Arne Hayden, Brian Taipale, Sami J. Kahilainen, Kimmo K. 2019 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221338 eng eng Public Library of Science PLoS One--PLoS One--1932-6203--journals:2401 eawag:19732 e-issn: 1932-6203 journal id: journals:2401 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0221338 ut: 000485026800045 scopus: 2-s2.0-85071032935 pmid: 31430331 Journal Article Text 2019 fteawag https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221338 2024-08-05T03:04:28Z Resource polymorphism—whereby ancestral generalist populations give rise to several specialised morphs along a resource gradient—is common where species colonise newly formed ecosystems. This phenomenon is particularly well documented in freshwater fish populations inhabiting postglacial lakes formed at the end of the last ice age. However, knowledge on how such differential exploitation of resources across contrasting habitats might be reflected in the biochemical compositions of diverging populations is still limited, though such patterns might be expected. Here, we aimed to assess how fatty acids (FA)—an important biochemical component of animal tissues—diverged across a polymorphic complex of European whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus ) and their closely related monomorphic specialist congener vendace ( Coregonus albula) inhabiting a series of six subarctic lakes in northern Fennoscandia. We also explored patterns of FA composition in whitefish’s predators and invertebrate prey to assess how divergence in trophic ecology between whitefish morphs would relate to biochemical profiles of their key food web associates. Lastly, we assessed how information on trophic divergence provided by differential FA composition compared to evidence of resource polymorphism retrieved from more classical stomach content and stable isotopic (δ 13 C, δ 15 N) information. Examination of stomach contents provided high-resolution information on recently consumed prey, whereas stable isotopes indicated broad-scale patterns of benthic-pelagic resource use differentiation at different trophic levels. Linear discriminant analysis based on FA composition was substantially more successful in identifying whitefish morphs and their congener vendace as distinct groupings when compared to the other two methods. Three major FA (myristic acid, stearic acid, and eicosadienoic acid) proved particularly informative, both in delineating coregonid groups, and identifying patterns of pelagic-benthic feeding throughout the wider food web. Myristic acid ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Fennoscandia Subarctic DORA Eawag PLOS ONE 14 8 e0221338 |
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English |
description |
Resource polymorphism—whereby ancestral generalist populations give rise to several specialised morphs along a resource gradient—is common where species colonise newly formed ecosystems. This phenomenon is particularly well documented in freshwater fish populations inhabiting postglacial lakes formed at the end of the last ice age. However, knowledge on how such differential exploitation of resources across contrasting habitats might be reflected in the biochemical compositions of diverging populations is still limited, though such patterns might be expected. Here, we aimed to assess how fatty acids (FA)—an important biochemical component of animal tissues—diverged across a polymorphic complex of European whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus ) and their closely related monomorphic specialist congener vendace ( Coregonus albula) inhabiting a series of six subarctic lakes in northern Fennoscandia. We also explored patterns of FA composition in whitefish’s predators and invertebrate prey to assess how divergence in trophic ecology between whitefish morphs would relate to biochemical profiles of their key food web associates. Lastly, we assessed how information on trophic divergence provided by differential FA composition compared to evidence of resource polymorphism retrieved from more classical stomach content and stable isotopic (δ 13 C, δ 15 N) information. Examination of stomach contents provided high-resolution information on recently consumed prey, whereas stable isotopes indicated broad-scale patterns of benthic-pelagic resource use differentiation at different trophic levels. Linear discriminant analysis based on FA composition was substantially more successful in identifying whitefish morphs and their congener vendace as distinct groupings when compared to the other two methods. Three major FA (myristic acid, stearic acid, and eicosadienoic acid) proved particularly informative, both in delineating coregonid groups, and identifying patterns of pelagic-benthic feeding throughout the wider food web. Myristic acid ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thomas, Stephen M. Kainz, Martin J. Amundsen, Per-Arne Hayden, Brian Taipale, Sami J. Kahilainen, Kimmo K. |
spellingShingle |
Thomas, Stephen M. Kainz, Martin J. Amundsen, Per-Arne Hayden, Brian Taipale, Sami J. Kahilainen, Kimmo K. Resource polymorphism in European whitefish: analysis of fatty acid profiles provides more detailed evidence than traditional methods alone |
author_facet |
Thomas, Stephen M. Kainz, Martin J. Amundsen, Per-Arne Hayden, Brian Taipale, Sami J. Kahilainen, Kimmo K. |
author_sort |
Thomas, Stephen M. |
title |
Resource polymorphism in European whitefish: analysis of fatty acid profiles provides more detailed evidence than traditional methods alone |
title_short |
Resource polymorphism in European whitefish: analysis of fatty acid profiles provides more detailed evidence than traditional methods alone |
title_full |
Resource polymorphism in European whitefish: analysis of fatty acid profiles provides more detailed evidence than traditional methods alone |
title_fullStr |
Resource polymorphism in European whitefish: analysis of fatty acid profiles provides more detailed evidence than traditional methods alone |
title_full_unstemmed |
Resource polymorphism in European whitefish: analysis of fatty acid profiles provides more detailed evidence than traditional methods alone |
title_sort |
resource polymorphism in european whitefish: analysis of fatty acid profiles provides more detailed evidence than traditional methods alone |
publisher |
Public Library of Science |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221338 |
genre |
Fennoscandia Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Fennoscandia Subarctic |
op_relation |
PLoS One--PLoS One--1932-6203--journals:2401 eawag:19732 e-issn: 1932-6203 journal id: journals:2401 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0221338 ut: 000485026800045 scopus: 2-s2.0-85071032935 pmid: 31430331 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221338 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
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14 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
e0221338 |
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1809909288187985920 |