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Main Authors: Pedersen, Adam F, Fisk, Aaron T, McMeans, Bailey C, Dietz, Rune, Sonne, Christian, Rosing-Asvid, Aqqalu, Ferguson, Steven H, McKinney, Melissa A
Format: Artículo científico
Language:en
Published: The Science of the total environment 2025
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Online Access:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39799644/
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author Pedersen, Adam F
Fisk, Aaron T
McMeans, Bailey C
Dietz, Rune
Sonne, Christian
Rosing-Asvid, Aqqalu
Ferguson, Steven H
McKinney, Melissa A
author_facet Pedersen, Adam F
Fisk, Aaron T
McMeans, Bailey C
Dietz, Rune
Sonne, Christian
Rosing-Asvid, Aqqalu
Ferguson, Steven H
McKinney, Melissa A
Pedersen, Adam F
Fisk, Aaron T
McMeans, Bailey C
Dietz, Rune
Sonne, Christian
Rosing-Asvid, Aqqalu
Ferguson, Steven H
McKinney, Melissa A
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents Fatty acid carbon isotopes as tracers of trophic structure and contaminant biomagnification in Arctic marine food webs. Pedersen, Adam F Fisk, Aaron T McMeans, Bailey C Dietz, Rune Sonne, Christian Rosing-Asvid, Aqqalu Ferguson, Steven H McKinney, Melissa A Food Chain Carbon Isotopes Animals Arctic Regions Environmental Monitoring Water Pollutants, Chemical Fatty Acids Zooplankton Mercury (Hg) and persistent organic pollutant (POP) accumulation among species and biomagnification through food webs is typically assessed using stable isotopes of nitrogen (δN) and carbon (δC) in bulk (whole) tissues. Yet, bulk isotopic approaches have limitations, notably from the potential overlap of isotope values from different dietary sources and from spatial variation in source (baseline) signals. Here, we explore the potential of fatty acid carbon isotopes (FA δC) to (1) evaluate the trophic structure of a marine food web, (2) distinguish feeding patterns among four marine mammal consumers, (3) trace contaminant biomagnification through a food web, and (4) explain interspecific variation in contaminants among high-trophic position predators. In the Cumberland Sound (CS) food web of Nunavut, Canada, ranging from zooplankton to Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), FA δC values for the monounsaturated FAs, 20:1 and 22:1 isomers, did not vary across the food web, while the long-chain polyunsaturated FA, 22:6n3 showed δC values that were enriched by ~1.5 ‰ with each trophic position. Values of δC for shorter-chain and saturated FAs varied widely across this food web. In East Greenland (EG) marine mammals, FA δC values were significantly higher in migratory sub-Arctic species relative to Arctic residents. Linear models using FA δC as explanatory variables for contaminant concentrations demonstrated that baseline-corrected δC values of certain dietary FAs explained more variation in POP concentrations than did bulk stable isotopes in EG marine mammals. However, bulk δN better explained Hg variation in the CS food web. This study details the FA δC instrumental methods, such that other researchers can test this novel approach on other species, locations, and food webs to further evaluate whether the δC values of certain diet-derived FAs consistently show limited or predictable trophic fractionation and may therefore be useful for assessing the accumulation and biomagnification of lipophilic contaminants.
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_39799644
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2025
publisher The Science of the total environment
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle Fatty acid carbon isotopes as tracers of trophic structure and contaminant biomagnification in Arctic marine food webs.
Pedersen, Adam F
Fisk, Aaron T
McMeans, Bailey C
Dietz, Rune
Sonne, Christian
Rosing-Asvid, Aqqalu
Ferguson, Steven H
McKinney, Melissa A
Food Chain
Carbon Isotopes
Animals
Arctic Regions
Environmental Monitoring
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Fatty Acids
Zooplankton
Fatty acid carbon isotopes as tracers of trophic structure and contaminant biomagnification in Arctic marine food webs. Pedersen, Adam F Fisk, Aaron T McMeans, Bailey C Dietz, Rune Sonne, Christian Rosing-Asvid, Aqqalu Ferguson, Steven H McKinney, Melissa A Food Chain Carbon Isotopes Animals Arctic Regions Environmental Monitoring Water Pollutants, Chemical Fatty Acids Zooplankton Mercury (Hg) and persistent organic pollutant (POP) accumulation among species and biomagnification through food webs is typically assessed using stable isotopes of nitrogen (δN) and carbon (δC) in bulk (whole) tissues. Yet, bulk isotopic approaches have limitations, notably from the potential overlap of isotope values from different dietary sources and from spatial variation in source (baseline) signals. Here, we explore the potential of fatty acid carbon isotopes (FA δC) to (1) evaluate the trophic structure of a marine food web, (2) distinguish feeding patterns among four marine mammal consumers, (3) trace contaminant biomagnification through a food web, and (4) explain interspecific variation in contaminants among high-trophic position predators. In the Cumberland Sound (CS) food web of Nunavut, Canada, ranging from zooplankton to Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), FA δC values for the monounsaturated FAs, 20:1 and 22:1 isomers, did not vary across the food web, while the long-chain polyunsaturated FA, 22:6n3 showed δC values that were enriched by ~1.5 ‰ with each trophic position. Values of δC for shorter-chain and saturated FAs varied widely across this food web. In East Greenland (EG) marine mammals, FA δC values were significantly higher in migratory sub-Arctic species relative to Arctic residents. Linear models using FA δC as explanatory variables for contaminant concentrations demonstrated that baseline-corrected δC values of certain dietary FAs explained more variation in POP concentrations than did bulk stable isotopes in EG marine mammals. However, bulk δN better explained Hg variation in the CS food web. This study details the FA δC instrumental methods, such that other researchers can test this novel approach on other species, locations, and food webs to further evaluate whether the δC values of certain diet-derived FAs consistently show limited or predictable trophic fractionation and may therefore be useful for assessing the accumulation and biomagnification of lipophilic contaminants.
title Fatty acid carbon isotopes as tracers of trophic structure and contaminant biomagnification in Arctic marine food webs.
topic Food Chain
Carbon Isotopes
Animals
Arctic Regions
Environmental Monitoring
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Fatty Acids
Zooplankton
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39799644/