Maternally derived nutrients influence fatty acid composition and predator evasion behavior of larval southern flounder, Paralichthys lethostigma

Abstract

Predation is the main source of mortality during the larval stage of marine fishes. Previous work has shown a correlation between measures of performance related to predator evasion and fatty acid (FA) composition of marine fish larvae, and that the latter can be influenced by both larval diet and maternally-derived nutrition (yolk). This study aimed to determine the relationships between FA composition of eggs, FA composition of the larval body, and predator evasion performance of southern flounder, Paralichthys lethostigma. Larvae hatched from eggs differing in FA composition were reared under common garden conditions to 15 and 35 days posthatching (dph) when measurements of routine swimming and responsiveness to a simulated looming predator were made. Larval responsiveness to the predatory stimulus was positively correlated with the FA ratios DHA: ARA and DHA: EPA in whole larvae at 15 and 35 dph, respectively. The amount of omega-3 docosapentaenoic acid (22:5(n-3)) in the egg was correlated, though not significantly, with the amount of DHA in the larval body at 15 dph (r = −0.51, P = 0.052), and was significantly correlated with the amount of DHA in the larval body at 35 dph (r = −0.62, P = 0.031). These results provide evidence of metabolic programming in southern flounder, and suggest that maternally derived nutrients indirectly influence larval mortality in the wild.