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Fatty acid mobilization and comparison to milk fatty acid content in northern elephant seals

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Abstract

A fundamental feature of the life history of true seals, bears and baleen whales is lactation while fasting. This study examined the mobilization of fatty acids from blubber and their subsequent partitioning into maternal metabolism and milk production in northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris). The fatty acid composition of blubber and milk was measured in both early and late lactation. Proportions of fatty acids in milk and blubber were found to display a high degree of similarity both early and late in lactation. Seals mobilized an enormous amount of lipid (~66 kg in 17 days), but thermoregulatory fatty acids, those that remain fluid at low temperatures, were relatively conserved in the outer blubber layer. Despite the stratification, the pattern of mobilization of specific fatty acids conforms to biochemical predictions. Long chain (>20C) monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) were the least mobilized from blubber and the only class of fatty acids that showed a proportional increase in milk in late lactation. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and saturated fatty acids (SFAs) were more mobilized from the blubber, but neither proportion increased in milk at late lactation. These data suggest that of the long chain MUFA mobilized, the majority is directed to milk synthesis. The mother may preferentially use PUFA and SFA for her own metabolism, decreasing the availability for deposition into milk. The potential impacts of milk fatty acid delivery on pup diving development and thermoregulation are exciting avenues for exploration.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. 0213095 and 0818018 and by Office of Naval Research grant N00014-08-1-1195. Any opinions and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. The analytical part of the study was conducted thanks to the financial support of the FNRS (FRFC project), Belgium. We would like to thank C. Champagne, T. de Tillesse and S. Simmons, J. Hassrick, C. Kuhn, P. Robinson and others at UCSC for logistical support and borrowed lab space during sample collection. We would also like to thank Clairol, Inc for marking solution and the rangers at Año Nuevo State Reserve.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA

    Melinda A. Fowler & Daniel P. Costa

  2. Institut des Sciences de la Vie, Université Catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 2/L7.05.08, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Cathy Debier, Eric Mignolet & Clementine Linard

  3. Department of Biology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USA

    Daniel E. Crocker

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  1. Melinda A. Fowler
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  2. Cathy Debier
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Correspondence to Melinda A. Fowler.

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Communicated by H.V. Carey.

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Fowler, M.A., Debier, C., Mignolet, E. et al. Fatty acid mobilization and comparison to milk fatty acid content in northern elephant seals. J Comp Physiol B 184, 125–135 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-013-0787-7

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