Bonefish (Albula vulpes) oocyte lipid class and fatty acid composition related to their development

• Published in: Environmental biology of fishes 2019-02, Vol.102 (2), p.221-232
• Main Authors: Mejri, Sahar, Luck, Cameron, Tremblay, Rejean, Riche, Marty, Adams, Aaron, Ajemian, Matthew J., Shenker, Jonathan, Wills, Paul S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Albula vulpes; Animal Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Arachidonic acid; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Breeding stock; Cell membranes; Composition; Docosahexaenoic acid; Ecological monitoring; Ecosystems; Eggs; Eicosapentaenoic acid; Energy storage; Environment; Esters; Fatty acid composition; Fatty acids; Fish; Fisheries; Fishery resources; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Life history; Life Sciences; Lipids; Membranes; Mineral nutrients; Nature Conservation; Nutrient requirements; Oocytes; Ovaries; Tidal flats; Tropical climate; Zoology
• ISSN: 0378-1909; 1573-5133
• DOI: 10.1007/s10641-018-0825-0

Bonefish ( Albula vulpes ) are a valuable fishery resource of tropical and subtropical ecosystems worldwide. Despite their importance, there is limited information on bonefish life history and ecology. The present study aims to describe, for the first time, oocytes development and their lipid characteristics in wild bonefish during the reproductive season in different tidal flat locations in Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas. Our results have shown that Bonefish follow group-synchronous ovarian development and produce lipid-rich eggs [total lipid (TL) content was >26% of wet mass (WM)]. The major lipid class was a neutral lipid: the wax esters and steryl esters (WE-SE; >48% of TL), suggesting their use to support buoyancy and/or energy storage. Fatty acid (FA) composition of bonefish oocytes was characterized by high levels of monoenes in the neutral lipid fraction (i.e. 16:1 and 18:1n-9) indicating their probable role as energy fuel. However, the most abundant fatty acids in the polar lipids were docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6 n-3 > 15% of total polar FA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5 n-3 > 13% of total polar FA) and arachidonic acid (ARA; 20:4 n-6 > 4% of total polar FA) which were selectively conserved among the tidal flat locations, suggesting their importance as essential constituents of cell membranes during the development of bonefish oocytes. Our results bring useful information concerning the reproductive physiology of bonefish and not only serve as a benchmark for determining the nutrient requirements to produce high quality eggs from bonefish captive broodstock, but also will help establish meaningful management practices for this species.