Seawater fatty acids and lipid classes in an urban and a rural Nova Scotia inlet

Abstract

Seawater samples collected in the summer of 1989 in Nova Scotia inlets were analyzed for lipid content to examine water quality. One inlet, the Northwest Arm, is located adjacent to an urban center, while the other, Ship Harbour, is located in an uninhabited area and contains three commercial mollusk farms. Lipids in the dissolved and particulate fractions were measured by Chromarod-Iatroscan thin-layer chromatography with flame ionization detection and by gas chromatography. Samples collected near the urban center had higher levels of particulate hydrocarbons (28±15 μg/L) than those collected in the relatively pristine environment (11±1 μg/L). The urban center samples also had higher levels of particulate free aliphatic alcohols (14±5vs. 8±1 μg/L) and free fatty acids (5±1vs.<0.5 μg/L), suggesting degradation of wax esters and other fatty acid esters. Dissolved and particulate matter fatty acids contained a higher proportion of monounsaturated acids near the urban center (33–35vs. 25–29% of the total fatty acids). The essential fatty acids 20∶5n−3 (eicosapentaenoic acid) and 22∶6n−3 (docosahexaenoic acid), presumably of algal origin, were more prominent in the pristine environment (up to 3.5%), where mollusk aquaculture is practiced. Fatty acid markers of toxic algae were virtually absent (<0.2%) in samples taken from both locations.