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Potential dietary influence on the stable isotopes and fatty acid composition of migratory anchovy (Coilia mystus) around the Changjiang Estuary

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 September 2014

Ying Cui ,
Ying Wu ,
Zhao Li Xu  and
Jing Zhang
Ying Cui*
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China
Ying Wu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China
Zhao Li Xu
Affiliation:
Key and Open Laboratory of Marine and Estuary Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture of China, East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fisheries Sciences, Shanghai 200090, China
Jing Zhang
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Y. Cui, State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China email: ycui@sklec.ecnu.edu.cn
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Abstract

The stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes and fatty acid composition of tapertail anchovy (Coilia mystus) at four migration stages collected around the Changjiang Estuary were analysed to investigate the variations in the trophic biomarkers during the fish migration. δ13 C and δ15N values of C. mystus ranged from −21.5 to −15.4‰ and from 6.9–15.8‰, respectively. Both δ13C and δ15N were enriched during migration. Polyunsaturated fatty acids were the dominant fatty acids and the major fatty acids found in C. mystus were C20:5n-3, C22:6n-3, C20:4n-6, C16:0, C18:0, C16:1n-7, C18:1(n-9, n-7) and C20:1 + C22:1. Significant changes among C. mystus at different migration stages were found both in the fatty acid composition and specific fatty acid concentration. Though the enrichment of stable isotopes may due to multiple factors (e.g. diet shift, environment and ontogeny), the dietary influence can be determined by the variation in fatty acid composition. Changes in the concentrations of benthic markers (C18:1n-7 and C20:4n-6) and pelagic markers (C18:1n-9 and C20:1 + C22:1) in C. mystus during the migration may suggest that benthic and pelagic food sources alternately dominated the anchovies' diet during different migration stages. It seems that application of multiple biomarkers in the trophic study of migratory fish will elevate the reliability of the analysis.

Keywords

migratory fishdiet sourceestuarymultiple biomarkers
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 95 , Issue 1 , February 2015 , pp. 193 - 205
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2014 

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