Abstract
In order to understand feeding ecology, habitat use and migration of coral reef fish, fatty acid composition was examined in damselfish species Abudefduf bengalensis and A. sexfasciatus collected in the Malaysian South China Sea. Proportions of saturated fatty acids (SAFA) ranged from 49.5% to 74.2%, with the highest proportions in fatty acids, the second highest was monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) ranged from 21.4% to 47.4% and the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was the lowest ranged from 3.1% to 6.0%. Palmitic acid (16:0) was the most common in SAFA, oleic acid (C18:1ω9c) was the dominant in MUFA and linolenic acid (C18:3n3) showed the highest proportion in PUFA. Fatty acid concentrations, especially in SAFA and MUFA, could be related to physiological condition, sexual development, and recent feeding events. The diet shift revealed by the fatty acid composition suggests changes in habitat use and migration scale in coral reef environment of genus Abudefduf.
Highlights
Malaysia has one of the highest and richest diversity of fish in the world (Arai 2015). Mohsin and Ambak (1996) reported 710 species of marine fishes from the Malaysian waters and their adjacent seas
Several information regarding taxonomy and distribution in coral fish species is available in Malaysian water, few study has done for their life history, ecology and reproduction compared to other coral reef area
It is noteworthy that fatty acid composition was different depending on the size groups in a damselfish species Abudefduf bengalensis
Summary
Malaysia has one of the highest and richest diversity of fish in the world (Arai 2015). Mohsin and Ambak (1996) reported 710 species of marine fishes from the Malaysian waters and their adjacent seas. Mohsin and Ambak (1996) reported 710 species of marine fishes from the Malaysian waters and their adjacent seas. Ambak et al (2010) and Chong et al (2010) listed 2243 and 1951 fish species, respectively, in Malaysian waters. Several information regarding taxonomy and distribution in coral fish species is available in Malaysian water, few study has done for their life history, ecology and reproduction compared to other coral reef area. Signature of fatty acid analysis has been increasingly used to study the diet of a number of marine species The use of fatty acids as trophic biomarkers is based on the assumption that many fatty acids in the marine environment are characteristic of specific groups (Stowasser et al 2012). Because animals (e.g. crustaceans and fish as well as humans) cannot synthesize ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids de novo, they need to
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