Lipids and trophic interactions of ice fauna and pelagic zooplankton in the marginal ice zone of the Barents Sea

Abstract

Gammarus wilkitzkii, Apherusa glacialis, Onismus nanseni, Onismus glacialis, Boreogadus saida, Parathemisto libellula and Calanus hyperboreus, collected in late June in the Barents Sea marginal ice zone, contained substantial levels (28–51% of the dry mass) of total lipid, the highest levels (51% and 41% respectively) being in  A. glacialis and  C. hyperboreus. Neutral lipids were present in greater amounts than polar lipids in all species. Triacylglycerols were major neutral lipids in A. glacialis, G. wilkitzkii and O. nanseni; triacylglycerols and wax esters were present in similar amounts in O. glacialis; higher levels of wax esters than triacylglycerols occurred in P. libellula; wax esters greatly exceeded triacylglycerols in C. hyperboreus, the opposite being true for B. saida. Diatom fatty acid markers were prominent in the triacylglycerols of G. wilkitzkii, O. nanseni, O. glacialis and, particularly, of  A. glacialis; 20:1(n-9) and 22:1(n-11) moieties were abundant in wax esters of G. wilkitzkii, O. nanseni, O. glacialis, P. libellula and  C. hyperboreus, and in triacylglycerols of B. saida. We deduce that  A. glacialis feeds mainly on ice algae and phytodetritus, G. wilkitzkii and the Onismus spp. feed on calanoid copepods as well as ice algae, whereas P. libellula and especially B. saida feed extensively on calanoid copepods.