Influence Of Growth On Fatty Acid Composition Of The Moon Wrasse Thalassoma Lunare Collected In Coral Reef Habitats Of The Malaysian South China Sea
Loading...
Date
2016-12
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tropical Ecology
Abstract
The composition of fatty acids in fishes can serve as trophic biomarkers in the
analysis of marine food webs because fatty acids can be traced as essential dietary components
to higher trophic levels; however, information on tropical coral fishes is scarce. In order to
understand the feeding ecology of coral reef fish, fatty acid composition and levels were
examined in the moon wrasse Thalassoma lunare collected in the Malaysian South China Sea.
Fatty acid composition was predominantly saturated fatty acids (SAFA) (62.5 %), followed by
monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) (33.8 %) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (3.7 %).
The most abundant fatty acids in SAFA, MUFA and PUFA were palmitic acid (C16:0), oleic acid
(C18:1ω9c) and elaidic acid (C18:1ω9t) and linolenic acid (C18:3n3) and EPA (C20:5n3),
respectively. Fatty acid concentrations, especially in SAFA and MUFA, changed with fish
growth, although PUFA did not change in fish growth. Such differences might be caused by
differences in the diet of the fish accompanying the growth.
Description
Keywords
Coral reef fish, Fatty acid, Feeding, Habitat ecology, South China Sea
Citation
Vol.57; Issue 4;779-785 p.