Biotransformation and assimilation of dietary lipids by Calanus feeding on a dinoflagellate

Journal Article · Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1987 · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(87)90376-0· OSTI ID:5221850

Harvey, H R; Eglinton, G ^[1]; O'Hara, S C.M.; Corner, E D.S. ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Bristol (England)
2. Marine Biological Association, Plymouth (England)

Stage V and adult females of the marine copepod Calanus helgolandicus were fed in the laboratory on the dinoflagellate Scrippsiella trochoidea at three concentrations calculated to represent pelagic ocean to bloom conditions. The identification and quantification of sterols, fatty acids and alcohols present in the algal diet, copepods and their faecal pellets were then carried out using computerized gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (C-GC-MS). The results showed marked differences in the proportion of the three lipid classes removed, with highest values found for fatty acids and the lowest for sterols. Up to 97% of ingested algal fatty acids were removed by the copepod, with a preference towards the removal of polyunsaturated acids. Algal sterols were also removed by Calanus; the percentage composition and concentration of sterols in faecal pellets differing from the algal diet at all three food levels. Evidence that the removal of lipids from the diet represented assimilation by the copepods was provided by the further finding that during the feeding period (20 hr) all three lipid classes increased in animal tissues. Quantitative measurements of individual sterols revealed that significant amounts of 4-methyl and 4-desmethyl sterols having the 8(14) and 17(20) unsaturation were removed at all dietary levels. In contrast, ring-saturated stanols were not removed and appear to pass through the gut quantitatively.

• OSTI ID: 5221850
• Journal Information: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (USA), Vol. 51:11; ISSN 0016-7037
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
LIPIDS
BIOGEOCHEMISTRY
MINERAL CYCLING
ALGAE
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
DEPOSITION
DIET
DINOFLAGELLATE
FOOD CHAINS
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
ORGANIC MATTER
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SEDIMENTS
STEROLS
ANIMALS
CHEMISTRY
CHROMATOGRAPHY
GEOCHEMISTRY
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INVERTEBRATES
MASTIGOPHORA
MICROORGANISMS
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
PROTOZOA
ROCKS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
STEROIDS
580000* - Geosciences