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Fatty acid composition of Euphausia superba, Thysanoessa macrura and Euphausia crystallorophias collected from Prydz Bay, Antarctica

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Abstract

The information of trophic relationship is important for studying the Southern Ocean ecosystems. In this study, three dominant krill species, Euphausia superba, Thysanoessa macrura and Euphausia crystallorophias, were collected from Prydz Bay, Antarctica, during austral summer of 2009/2010. The composition of fatty acids in these species was studied. E. superba and T. macrura showed a similar fatty acid composition which was dominated by C14:0, C16:0, EPA (eicosapentenoic acid) and DHA (decosahexenoic acid) while E. crystallorophias showed higher contents of C18:1(n-9), C18:1(n-7), DHA and EPA than the former two. Higher fatty acid ratios of C18:1(n-9)/18:1(n-7), PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acid)/SFA (saturated fatty acid), and 18PUFA/16PUFA indicated that E. crystallorophias should be classified as a typical omnivore with a higher trophic position compared with E. superba and T. macrura.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, P. R. China

    Guang Yang, Chaolun Li & Yanqing Wang

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  1. Guang Yang
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  2. Chaolun Li
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  3. Yanqing Wang
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Correspondence to Chaolun Li.

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Yang, G., Li, C. & Wang, Y. Fatty acid composition of Euphausia superba, Thysanoessa macrura and Euphausia crystallorophias collected from Prydz Bay, Antarctica. J. Ocean Univ. China 15, 297–302 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-016-2791-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-016-2791-5

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