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Dynamics of lipid and fatty acid composition of the hyperiid amphipod Themisto: a bipolar comparison with special emphasis on seasonality

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Abstract

Themisto in polar regions represents a direct link between the zooplankton community and higher predators. Lipid characteristics were reviewed for both polar populations: T. libellula and T. abyssorum in the Arctic, and T. gaudichaudii in the Antarctic. Lipids composition showed similarities for all species with lipid class structures dominated by neutral lipids and similar composition of fatty acid membrane lipids. Differences reflect specificities of food web structure. In the Arctic, feeding on Calanus resulted in high accumulation of wax esters, and high content in long-chain monoenes in triglycerides and wax esters. In the Antarctic, feeding on different calanoid copepods resulted in a dominance of triglycerides and high 18:1n-9 content in both neutral lipid classes. Strong similarities in total fatty acid composition of summer-collected Themisto were observed in both polar systems. In addition to summer published data, a seasonal survey of adult lipid composition was carried out in Kerguelen Bay over 18 months. Lipid class composition showed maximum values of neutral lipids in fall-winter to cope with low food abundance and late winter reproduction. The results concerning fatty acid structure underline the influence of the summer–winter and winter–spring transitions: triglycerides and wax ester fatty acid changes showed in winter maximum percentages of 18:1n-9 and minimum content of polyunsaturated fatty acids. It emphasized the overwintering strategy with continuous feeding, relative stability of lipid content but decreasing percentages of polyunsaturated acids in wax esters (mostly 18:4n-3), and to a lesser extent triglycerides (mostly 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3) to maintain stability in phospholipids fatty acid composition.

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Acknowledgments

This study was part of the IOZ programme financially supported by a grant from the “Groupement de Recherche en Environnement 1069: Ecosystèmes et Anthropisation” from the CNRS, from IPEV Interactions Oiseaux-Zooplancton 166 (IOZ), and from UMR-CNRS 7093. Thanks to P. Lejeune, G. Roudaut, and F. Alonzo for their technical help in the field. Special thanks to the captain and the crew from the RV La Curieuse. The authors would like to thank Dr. John Dolan for his editorial comments and suggestions.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, UMR 7093, UPMC Université Paris 06, Sorbonne Universités, BP 28, 06234, Villefranche-Sur-Mer, France

    P. Mayzaud & M. Boutoute

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

    P. Mayzaud & M. Boutoute

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  1. P. Mayzaud
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Correspondence to P. Mayzaud.

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300_2015_1666_MOESM1_ESM.jpg

Figure S1. Seasonal changes in percent main fatty acids constitutive of adult female T. gaudichaudii phospholipids (JPEG 105 kb)

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Mayzaud, P., Boutoute, M. Dynamics of lipid and fatty acid composition of the hyperiid amphipod Themisto: a bipolar comparison with special emphasis on seasonality. Polar Biol 38, 1049–1065 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1666-3

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