Influence of reservoirs eutrophication in the trophic transfer of fatty acids to omnivorous fish

• Grant number: 16/07363-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2017
• End date: July 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Physiology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Ribeiro Gomes
• Grantee: ALINE DAL OLIO GOMES
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 14/16320-7 - Impacts of climate/environmental change on the fauna: an integrative approach, AP.PFPMCG.TEM

Abstract

In temperate environments, the eutrophication process results in a replacement of rich-taxon in EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid, C20: 5n3) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid, C22: 6n3), as diatoms, cryptophytes and dinoflagellates, by poor-taxa these fatty acids (FAs), as chlorophytes and cyanobacteria, changing the nutritional quality of the FAs transfer to higher trophic levels, including fish. On the other hand, a study developed in tropical hypertrophic reservoir showed a high percentage of EPA and DHA in omnivorous and carnivorous fish, explained by the unusual presence of a high density of dinoflagellates in the environment. These data suggest that the dynamics of planktonic organisms, and hence of FAs, seem to be different in the tropics. The possible effects of changes in Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) profile of the food chain in the physiological processes of fish include the regulation of the fluidity of membranes, growth rates and reproduction. Changes in these processes may also affect the immune system, whereas PUFAs, as EPA and ARA (arachidonic acid, C20: 4n6), act as precursors of eicosanoids, directly involved in inflammation and immune response. Studies evaluating the effect of anthropogenic changes in ecosystems on the bottom-up transfer of FAs n3 and n6 and the consequent effects on the health of consumers in response to such changes are unknown. Based on the above, this project aims to investigate the influence of eutrophication on trophic transfer of PUFAs (from primary producers to omnivorous fish) in different tropical reservoirs and the relationship of this transfer of fatty acids to the inflammatory response of the fish. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MARQUES, V. H.; MOREIRA, R. G.; GOMES, A. D.. Influence of tropical reservoirs eutrophication on the polyunsaturated fatty acid profile in Astyanax altiparanae (Pisces: Characidae). Science of The Total Environment, v. 717, MAY 15 2020. (16/07363-0, 17/15662-0, 14/16320-7, 17/11530-1)