A comparison of the fatty acid profiles of newly hatched, fed, and starved juveniles of Amphioctopus fangsiao (d’Orbigny 1839)

Abstract

The paper provides a first look into the fatty acids (FA) of young Amphioctopus fangsiao. Laboratory-hatched, 1-day-old juveniles (NH) were analyzed to identify the basal FA profile. To determine dietary effects on FA, individually kept juveniles (FD) were fed mysids once daily. Others were subjected to starvation (ST) to examine which FA may be used and which would be conserved. Treatments run for 25 days post-hatch, at which time ST and FD were analyzed to record FA changes. The dominant FA were 16:0, eicosapentaenoic (EPA), and docosahexaenoic (DHA), overall accounting for 40–60%. Monounsaturated FA (MUFA) were the highest in FD at 24.2% whereas highly unsaturated FA (HUFA) were most prominent in ST at 45.5%, followed by NH at 40.2%. Among n-3 HUFA, DHA was dominant in ST at 22.9 mg g−1 dry weight (DW), the role assumed by EPA in FD at 11.5 mg g−1 DW. Consequently, the DHA/EPA ratio was the lowest in FD. Arachidonic was the most abundant n-6 HUFA, representing >5% in total FA. However, n-6 FA were not prevalent, resulting in high n-3/n-6 in all juveniles. It could be argued that young A. fangsiao require n-3 HUFA, particularly DHA and EPA at a ratio of ideally >1.5 and to a lesser extent n-6 HUFA. Juveniles fed on a low lipid, high n-3 diet increased their MUFA content while maintaining high HUFA. Despite changes in the FA of ST individuals, it appears food-deprived A. fangsiao do not depend on FA mobilization for energy production.