Abstract
Omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA) are key structural lipids and their dietary intake is essential for brain development of virtually all vertebrates. The importance of n-3 LC-PUFA has been demonstrated in clinical and laboratory studies, but little is known about how differences in the availability of n-3 LC-PUFA in natural prey influence brain development of wild consumers. Consumers foraging at the interface of aquatic and terrestrial food webs can differ substantially in their intake of n-3 LC-PUFA, which may lead to differences in brain development, yet this hypothesis remains to be tested. Here we use the previously demonstrated shift towards higher reliance on n-3 LC-PUFA deprived terrestrial prey of native brown trout Salmo trutta living in sympatry with invasive brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis to explore this hypothesis. We found that the content of n-3 LC-PUFA in muscle tissues of brown trout decreased with increasing consumption of n-3 LC-PUFA deprived terrestrial prey. Brain volume was positively related to the content of the n-3 LC-PUFA, docosahexaenoic acid, in muscle tissues of brown trout. Our study thus suggests that increased reliance on diets low in n-3 LC-PUFA, such as terrestrial subsidies, can have a significant negative impact on brain development of wild trout. Our findings provide the first evidence of how brains of wild vertebrate consumers response to scarcity of n-3 LC-PUFA content in natural prey.
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The authors are grateful to Samuel-Karl Kämmer, Katharina Winter, and Niklas Wengström for their assistance with collection and processing of samples.
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This study was funded by the Austrian Science Fund, FWF, Lise Meitner Program (Project M 2742-BBL), and Carl Tryggers foundation (CT 16:221).
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LZ, JH, and MJK conceived and designed the experiments. LZ and MLW performed the experiments with contribution of MJK and JH. LZ analysed the data. LZ wrote the manuscript; other authors provided editorial advice.
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Závorka, L., Wallerius, M.L., Kainz, M.J. et al. Linking omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in natural diet with brain size of wild consumers. Oecologia 199, 797–807 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-022-05229-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-022-05229-1