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Temperature-dependent lipid levels and components in polar and temperate eelpout (Zoarcidae)

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Abstract

Total lipid content, lipid classes and fatty acid composition were analysed in tissues from two eelpout species fed on the same diet, the Antarctic Pachycara brachycephalum and the temperate Zoarces viviparus, with the aim of determining the role of lipids in fishes from different thermal habitats. The lipid content increased with decreasing temperature in the liver of both species, suggesting enhanced lipid storage under cold conditions. In P. brachycephalum, lipid composition in the liver and muscle was strongly dominated by triacylglycerols between 0 and 6°C. In contrast, in the temperate species, lipid class composition changed with changes in the temperature. When acclimatized to 4 and 6°C Z. viviparus not only displayed a shift to lipid anabolism and pronounced lipid storage, as indicated by high triacylglycerol levels, but also a shift to patterns of cold adaptation, as reflected by an increased content of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the lipid extract. Unsaturated fatty acids were also abundant in the Antarctic eelpout, but when compared to Z. viviparus at the same temperatures, the latter had significantly higher ratios of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acid levels, whereas the Antarctic eelpout showed significantly higher ratios of monounsaturated to saturated fatty acid levels. High δ-15N values of the Antarctic eelpout reflect the high trophic level of this scavenger in the Weddell Sea food web. Stable carbon values suggest that lipid-enriched prey forms a major part of its diet. The strategy to accumulate storage lipids in the cold is interpreted to be adaptive behaviour at colder temperatures and during periods of irregular, pulsed food supply.

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Abbreviations

CHOL:

Cholesterol

DAGE:

Diacylglycerol ethers

FFA:

Free fatty acids

MUFA:

Monounsaturated fatty acids

PL:

Polar lipids

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acids

SFA:

Saturated fatty acids

TAG:

Triacylglycerols

UFA:

Unsaturated fatty acids

WE:

Wax esters

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Marco Böer for his support in the lipid class and fatty acid analyses and Dr. Ulrich Struck (GeoBioCenter, München) for analysing the stable isotope samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physiology of Marine Animals, Alfred–Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Postfach 12 01 61, Bremerhaven, 27515, Germany

    Eva Brodte, R. Knust & H.-O. Pörtner

  2. Chemical Ecology, Alfred–Wegener-Institute for Polar- and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, 27515, Germany

    M. Graeve

  3. Animal Ecology, Alfred–Wegener-Institute for Polar- and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, 27515, Germany

    U. Jacob

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  1. Eva Brodte
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  2. M. Graeve
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  3. U. Jacob
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  4. R. Knust
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  5. H.-O. Pörtner
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Correspondence to Eva Brodte.

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Brodte, E., Graeve, M., Jacob, U. et al. Temperature-dependent lipid levels and components in polar and temperate eelpout (Zoarcidae). Fish Physiol Biochem 34, 261–274 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-007-9185-y

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