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Fatty acid signature analysis documents the diet of five myctophid fish from the Southern Ocean

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Abstract

Fatty acid (FA) and fatty alcohol (FAlc) compositions of both total lipid and neutral lipid fractions were studied for five myctophid species sampled in Kerguelen waters. Both qualitative and quantitative FA signature analyses were then performed to investigate their diet over longer time scales than the conventional stomach content analysis. Regarding their lipid class, FA and FAlc compositions, the five species could be discriminated into two groups: wax-ester-rich species (Electrona antarctica, Krefftichthys anderssoni) characterised by large amounts of monounsaturated FAs (>73% of total FAs) and triacylglycerol-rich species (Electrona carlsbergi, Gymnoscopelus nicholsi, Protomyctophum bolini) with major amounts of saturated and monounsaturated FAs (>29 and >46% of total FAs, respectively). Qualitative and quantitative FA analyses showed that K. anderssoni mainly preyed upon copepods, E. antarctica upon copepods and more euphausiids and P. bolini and E. carlsbergi mainly upon euphausiids with some copepods, while G. nicholsi had a more diverse diet. This study shows the usefulness of quantitative statistical analysis to determine the diet of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic predators and stresses the need of increasing the lipid and FA analyses of more zooplanktonic and micro-nektonic marine species.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the crew of MV La Curieuse and all the scientific assistants of the IPEKER and ICHTYOKER cruises who collected the fish under a MNHN protocol, CF Phleger, PD Nichols, MM Nelson, KL Phillips and G Wilson for generously supplying detailed chromatographic data of some of the potential prey species and M. Boutoute for helping with the lipid analyses. Discussions with B Hulley and P Koubbi greatly improved the manuscript, as well as comments from both reviewers, and we sincerely thank L Allan for help with English grammar and style. The fieldwork was supported financially and logistically by the Institut Polaire Français Paul Emile Victor (IPEV, Programme no. 109, H Weimerskirch) and the Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises. This research was supported by CNRS through UMR 7093 and UPR 1934, and a doctoral scholarship to MC from Paris VI University.

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  1. Maëlle Connan

    Present address: Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, PO Box 94, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Observatoire Océanologique, Océanographie Biochimique et Ecologie, UMR 7093-LOV, Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, BP 28, 06234, Villefranche, France

    Maëlle Connan & Patrick Mayzaud

  2. UMR 7093-LOV, CNRS, BP 28, 06234, Villefranche, France

    Maëlle Connan & Patrick Mayzaud

  3. UPR 1934 du CNRS, Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, BP 14, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France

    Maëlle Connan & Yves Cherel

  4. UMR 7208, Département des Milieux et Peuplements Aquatiques, MNHN, CP 26, 43, Rue Cuvier, 75231, Paris Cedex 05, France

    Guy Duhamel

  5. Information Technology Division, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    Bo T. Bonnevie

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  1. Maëlle Connan
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  2. Patrick Mayzaud
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Correspondence to Maëlle Connan.

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Communicated by M. A. Peck.

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Connan, M., Mayzaud, P., Duhamel, G. et al. Fatty acid signature analysis documents the diet of five myctophid fish from the Southern Ocean. Mar Biol 157, 2303–2316 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-010-1497-2

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