Abstract
Sea urchins Paracentrotus lividus were harvested monthly from April 2015 to March 2016 from two sites in Sardinia (Italy). The two sites, a Posidonia oceanica meadow and a rocky bottom habitat, were naturally characterized by different food sources and availability, being mainly populated by the sea grass Posidonia oceanica and the brown algae Halopteris scoparia, respectively. Total lipids showed a minimum during winter in mature gonads, and a maximum in the summer (recovery stage). Fatty acid (FA) profiles of gut contents and gonads differed from those of the most available food sources. Levels of C18:3 (n-3) (ALA) discriminated samples from the two sites. Despite the very low amounts of C20:5 (n-3) (EPA) and C20:4 (n-6) (ARA) in P. oceanica, the main FA in gonads and gut contents were EPA and ARA in both sites. Increase in green algae intake prior to gametogenesis, especially C. cylindracea, likely affected EPA and ARA levels in gonads. The results show that P. lividus is able to concentrate lipids in gut contents and also to selectively store EPA, ARA and their precursors ALA and 18:2 (n-6) (LA). Moreover, bioconversion of ALA to EPA and of LA to ARA in P. lividus is suggested.
Highlights
Sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus is naturally widespread along the European coast, both in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Atlantic Ocean[1]
The main purpose of the present paper is to describe P. lividus nutritional metabolism, with a specific focus on the effect of two marine habitats mainly populated by a sea grass (Posidonia oceanica) and a macroalga (Halopteris scoparia) constituting sea urchin diet in the selected natural environments[1,25]
Both total lipid content and fatty acid profiles of the most abundant sea grass and macroalgae, gonads and gut contents of sea urchin P. lividus were analyzed as a function of time over one year
Summary
Sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus is naturally widespread along the European coast, both in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Atlantic Ocean[1]. Nowadays a growing attention to sustainable fishing is being paid, while at the same time increasing efforts are directed to the improvement of sea urchin breeding strategy. To this end, stock enhancement programs are promoted while meeting market d emand4.\. Our previous investigations on the lipid composition of sea urchin gonads demonstrated that both physiological and seasonal factors considerably affect lipid absorption and storage mechanisms. They highlighted the marked influence of some environmental parameters on fatty acid profiles[21,22]. We discuss the impact of dietary fatty acids on the gonadal fatty acid profiles over a complete seasonal cycle
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