Abstract

The particulate fraction of the fatty acids was investigated in water samples collected from different stations along the Shatt Al-Arab River and North-West Arabian Gulf during the period June 1993 to July 1994. Samples were analyzed by gas chromatography. Several qualitative and quantitative differences were observed. In general, palmitoleic acid (16:1), palmitic acid (16:0), heptadecanoic acid (17:0), stearic acid (18:0), oleic acid (18:1) and linoleic acid (18:2) were found to be the most abundant fatty acids in the region. Total particulate fatty acids showed large variations, from 1.45 µg/gm at station 7 (Arabian Gulf) during summer 1993 to 18.91 µg/gm at station 2 (Shatt Al-Arab River at Al-Fao town) during winter 1993. The main sources of odd and even number of fatty acids were phytoplankton and microbial activities, while aquatic plants were missing in most sites.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call