Comparison of fatty acid composition of cladocerans and copepods from lakes of different climatic zones

Abstract

We have studied the fatty acid (FA) contents and composition of cladocerans and copepods from warm and cold lakes. We have found no significant differences in FA percent levels and per carbon contents of cladocerans from warm and cold lakes or of copepods from warm and cold lakes. A discriminant analysis showed that all cladocerans differed from all copepods mainly due to the content of docosahexaenoic acid. Compared to cladocerans, copepods had significantly higher levels of all C22 polyunsaturated FA. Thus, we conclude that cladocerans and copepods in all environments had comparatively invariant taxon-specific compositions and contents of long-chain highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs). According to HUFA content, all studied copepods can be regarded as a valuable food for fish.