Unusually high levels of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in whale sharks and reef manta rays

L I E Couturier; C A Rohner; A J Richardson; S J Pierce; A D Marshall; F R A Jaine; Kathy A Townsend; M B Bennett; S J Weeks; P D Nichols

doi:10.1007/s11745-013-3829-8

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Unusually high levels of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in whale sharks and reef manta rays

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Unusually high levels of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in whale sharks and reef manta rays

L I E Couturier, C A Rohner, A J Richardson, S J Pierce, A D Marshall, F R A Jaine, Kathy A Townsend, M B Bennett, S J Weeks and P D Nichols

Lipids, Vol.48(10), pp.1029-1034

2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-013-3829-8

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Abstract

n-3 Fatty acids

arachidonic acid

planktivores

zooplankton

elasmobranch

Fatty acid (FA) signature analysis has been increasingly used to assess dietary preferences and trophodynamics in marine animals. We investigated FA signatures of connective tissue of the whale shark Rhincodon typus and muscle tissue of the reef manta ray Manta alfredi. We found high levels of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), dominated by arachidonic acid (20:4n-6; 12-17 % of total FA), and comparatively lower levels of the essential n-3 PUFA - eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3; ∼1 %) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3; 3-10 %). Whale sharks and reef manta rays are regularly observed feeding on surface aggregations of coastal crustacean zooplankton during the day, which generally have FA profiles dominated by n-3 PUFA. The high levels of n-6 PUFA in both giant elasmobranchs raise new questions about the origin of their main food source. © 2013 The Author(s).

Details

Title: Unusually high levels of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in whale sharks and reef manta rays
Authors: L I E Couturier (Author) - University of Queensland
C A Rohner (Author) - University of Queensland
A J Richardson (Author) - University of Queensland
S J Pierce (Author) - Marine Megafauna Foundation, Mozambique
A D Marshall (Author) - Marine Megafauna Foundation, Mozambique
F R A Jaine (Author) - University of Queensland
Kathy A Townsend (Author) - University of Queensland
M B Bennett (Author) - University of Queensland
S J Weeks (Author) - University of Queensland
P D Nichols (Author) - CSIRO
Publication details: Lipids, Vol.48(10), pp.1029-1034
Publisher: Springer
Date published: 2013
DOI: 10.1007/s11745-013-3829-8
ISSN: 0024-4201
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99451184002621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Nutrition & Dietetics

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