Variation in fatty acid composition of the bigeye snapper Lutjanus lutjanus collected in coral reef habitats of the Malaysian South China Sea.

Takaomi Arai,Zainudin Bachok,Razikin Amalina

doi:10.1186/s40709-015-0027-2

Takaomi Arai, Zainudin Bachok + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40709-015-0027-2

Copy DOI

Abstract

BackgroundIn order to understand trophic ecology, habitat use and migration of coral reef fish, fatty acid composition and levels were examined in the bigeye snapper Lutjanus lutjanus collected in the Malaysian South China Sea.ResultsProportions of saturated fatty acids (SAFA) ranged from 55.0% to 66.5%, with the highest proportions in fatty acids, the second highest was monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) ranged from 30.7% to 40.2% while the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was the lowest ranged from 2.8% to 4.8%. 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 value in PUFA. Fatty acid concentrations, especially in SAFA and MUFA, increased with fish growth, suggesting diet and habitat shifts during the fish life history. Most of the fish had more than 1 of EPA: DHA ratio, which suggested that diets of L. lutjanus tended to be higher trophic organisms such as zooplankton and crustacean in coral ecosystem.ConclusionsThe diet shift revealed by the composition and levels of the fatty acid profile revealed potential pattern in the habitat use and migration scale in coral reef environment of L. lutjanus.

Highlights

In order to understand trophic ecology, habitat use and migration of coral reef fish, fatty acid composition and levels were examined in the bigeye snapper Lutjanus lutjanus collected in the Malaysian South China Sea
Biological characteristics Biological characteristics such as total length (TL) and body weight (BW) of the bigeye snapper Lutjanus lutjanus ranged from 13.2 cm to 19.5 cm and from 30.6 g to 109 g, respectively (Table 1)
Significant differences were found among three size classes in TL (p < 0.0001), BW (p < 0.0001) and liver weight (LW) (p < 0.05)

Summary

Introduction

In order to understand trophic ecology, habitat use and migration of coral reef fish, fatty acid composition and levels were examined in the bigeye snapper Lutjanus lutjanus collected in the Malaysian South China Sea. Southeast Asia is recognised as the global centre for coral reefs, both in terms of extent and species diversity. The coral reefs of the South China Sea are sources of larvae and juveniles for many commercially important reef fish. 710 species of marine fishes from the Malaysian water and their adjacent seas are reported [2]. Ambak et al [3] and Chong et al [4] listed 2243 and 1951 fish species, respectively, in Malaysian water. Several information regarding taxonomy and distribution in coral fish species is available in Malaysian water, few studies have been

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion