Fatty Acid Analysis in European Flounder Muscle: A Promising Tool to Assess the Impact of Eutrophication on Estuarine Health
2024
Laurent, Jennifer | Le Grand, Fabienne | Bideau, Antoine | Le Berre, Iwan | Le Floch, Stephane | Pichereau, Vianney | Laroche, Jean
In the present paper, we developed an approach combining lipid class and fatty acid analyses on European flounder muscle, watershed geographic metrics and pollutant analyses in sediments, to assess the ecological status of seven small French estuaries. The watersheds were differentiated by contrasted fatty acids compositions in flounder muscle. The analysis of fatty acids, and more specifically polar lipids, provided a good understanding of the physiological responses of fish to their environment. Within polar lipids, differences in polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) proportions, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), reflected not only the state of cell membranes but also variations in the quality of food sources. High levels of PUFA were associated with better ecological conditions, while reduced PUFA availability was clearly linked to eutrophication. In addition, higher lipid reserve content was clearly identified in systems impacted by fish farming, reflecting a potentially lipid-rich diet. Neutral lipid fatty acids were particularly useful for studying trophic relationships in aquatic ecosystems. Thus, the integration of polar and neutral fatty acids analyses, offered a more comprehensive assessment of biochemical and physiological interactions in the ecosystem. The originality of this research lies in the use of fish lipid markers, which have highlighted the importance of fatty acid profiles as bioindicators to evaluate the health status of estuarine systems and in particular their eutrophication levels, considering an estuarine sentinel species widely distributed over Europe.
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