Macroinvertebrates play a key role in aquatic food webs, with amino acids (AA) playing an important role in determining their nutritional value to higher consumers. This study aimed to determine whether AA profile varies among four macroinvertebrate taxa, spatially and seasonally (summer/winter). The freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium australiense; freshwater shrimp, Paratya australiensis; freshwater snail, Physa sp. and caddisfly, Triplectides sp. were collected from seven sites along the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia. Sampling was conducted during summer 2015 (October–December), winter 2016 (May–June) and summer 2016 (October–December). AA profiles were found to be significantly different among the four taxa, with the highest total amino acid content found in decapods (M. australiense and P. australiensis). Based on the total essential AA content from our study, decapods had higher nutritional value compared to Physa. Seasonal variations in AA profiles of decapods were observed, with an increased proportion of the non-essential amino acid glycine and decreased proportion of different essential AAs found in individuals collected during winter compared to summer. No seasonal variation in the AA profiles of Physa sp. or Triplectides sp. was shown. Spatial variation in the AA profile of macroinvertebrates was only recorded in P. australiense during winter 2016. These findings expand the current understanding of the AA profile of freshwater macroinvertebrates showing that AA profiles are taxa specific and vary seasonally and spatially depending on taxa.

无脊椎动物在水生食物网中起关键作用，而氨基酸（AA）在确定其对高等消费者的营养价值方面起着重要作用。这项研究旨在确定AA分布在空间和季节（夏季/冬季）之间是否在四个大型无脊椎动物类群中发生变化。淡水虾，澳洲沼虾；淡水虾，澳洲副虾；淡水蜗牛，Physa sp.。和caddisfly，三胞胎sp。采集自澳大利亚墨累达令盆地沿线的七个地点。在2015年夏季（10月至12月），2016年冬季（5月至6月）和2016年夏季（10月至12月）进行了采样。发现AA谱在四个类群中有显着差异，在十足动物中发现了最高的总氨基酸含量（M. australiense和P. australiensis）。根据我们研究中必需氨基酸的总含量，与Physa相比，十足动物具有更高的营养价值。。观察到十足动物的AA分布的季节性变化，与夏季相比，冬季采集的个体中非必需氨基酸甘氨酸的比例增加，而不同必需氨基酸的比例降低。Physa sp。的AA曲线没有季节性变化。或Triplectides sp。被显示。大型无脊椎动物AA分布的空间变化仅在2016年冬季记录在澳大利亚P. australiense中。这些发现扩大了对淡水大型无脊椎动物AA分布的当前了解，表明AA分布是特定的分类单元，并且随分类单元在季节和空间上变化。