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Stable isotope labeling reveals patterns in essential fatty acid growth efficiency in a lipid-poor coastal calanoid copepod

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Abstract

Copepods are an important link in marine food webs, transferring crucial nutrients such as essential fatty acids (EFA) from primary producers to higher consumers. Yet data on lipid dynamics in marine ecosystems associated with small lipid-poor copepods are scarce. In this study, we used the coastal calanoid copepod Eurytemora herdmani, which is an opportunistic generalist feeder, to assess EFA-specific gross growth efficiency (GGEEFA), defined as the fraction of ingested EFA retained in copepod tissue. We conducted two eight-day feeding experiments with 13C-labeled phytoplankton to quantify incorporation and GGEEFA of eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3; EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3; DHA) in stage CV E. herdmani copepodites consuming either the EPA-replete diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii or the DHA-replete mixotrophic dinoflagellate Heterocapsa triquetra. EFA incorporation was quantified using gas chromatography. We recorded rapid shifts (within 48 h) in copepod tissue fatty acid (FA) composition following diet change, but not directly mirroring dietary algal FA. We also found high GGEEFA, with maxima of 46% and 61% for EPA and DHA, respectively, in copepods ingesting T. weissflogii and 39% and 87%, respectively, in copepods ingesting H. triquetra. GGEDHA remained higher than GGEEPA throughout the experiments regardless of dietary algae. GGEEFA decreased overall when copepods matured and produced nauplii, indicating EFA allocation for reproductive purposes. GGEDHA values in non-reproducing E. herdmani copepodites were high, suggesting that under predicted shifts in copepod community size structure, trophic transfer by small copepods could help compensate for DHA reductions resulting from lower abundances of large, lipid-rich species.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the crew of the CCGS Sigma T for support at sea, as well as Emmanuel Devred, Claudio DiBacco, Steven Duerksen, Barry MacDonald, Heather Nadeau, Kevin Pauley, Tim Perry, Marc Ringuette, Betty Roethlisberger, Jackie Spry, and Jeffrey Spry for laboratory and field assistance.

Funding

This study was funded by a Weston Seeding Food Innovation Grant and a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant.

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This study was designed by all authors; the field and laboratory work were carried out by LH with advice from CJ and SB; data collection and analysis were carried out by LH; the manuscript was drafted by LH and edited by CJ and SB. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Laura Helenius.

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Helenius, L., Budge, S.M. & Johnson, C.L. Stable isotope labeling reveals patterns in essential fatty acid growth efficiency in a lipid-poor coastal calanoid copepod. Mar Biol 167, 178 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-020-03794-8

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