Tandard error from the imply SFA Saturated fatty acid(s)L. I. E. Couturier and C. A. Rohner contributed equally. L. I. E. Couturier ( ) ?M. B. Bennett School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia e-mail: [email protected] L. I. E. Couturier ?C. A. Rohner ?A. J. Richardson ?F. R. A. Jaine Climate Adaptation Flagship, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Analysis, Dutton Park, QLD 4102, Australia C. A. Rohner ?S. J. Pierce ?A. D. Marshall Manta Ray and Whale Shark Study Centre, Marine Megafauna Foundation, Praia do Tofo, Inhambane, Mozambique C. A. Rohner ?F. R. A. Jaine ?S. J. Weeks Biophysical Oceanography Group, College of Geography, Organizing and Environmental Management, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia A. J. Richardson Centre for Applications in All-natural Resource Mathematics, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia S. J. Pierce ?A. D. Marshall Wild Me, Praia do Tofo, Inhambane, Mozambique K. A. Townsend College of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia P. D. Nichols Wealth from Oceans Flagship, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Hobart, TAS 7000, AustraliaLipids (2013) 48:1029?Introduction The whale shark Rhincodon typus as well as the reef manta ray Manta alfredi are giant planktivorous elasmobranchs which can be presumed to feed predominantly on aggregations of zooplankton in very productive regions [1, 2]. Direct studies on the diet regime of those elasmobranchs are limited to examination of several stomach contents, faecal material and steady isotope analyses [3?], while current field observations suggest that their diets are mostly composed of crustacean zooplankton [1, 7]. It really is unknown, nevertheless, regardless of whether near-surface zooplankton are a major or only a minor component of their diets, regardless of whether these substantial elasmobranchs target other prey, or whether or not they feed in areas aside from surface waters along productive coastlines. Here we employed signature fatty acid (FA) analysis to assess dietary preferences of R. typus and M. alfredi. The necessary long-chain (CC20) polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) of fishes are most likely derived straight in the diet program, as higher shoppers typically lack the capability to biosynthesise these FA de novo [8, 9]. The fatty acid profile of zooplankton is generally dominated by PUFA using a high n-3/n-6 ratio, and typically contains high levels of ALK4 Formulation eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) and/or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) [8, ten, 11]. Thinking of this, it was expected that FA profiles of R. typus and M. alfredi tissues could be similarly n-3 PUFA dominated.Materials and Approaches Tissue samples were collected from live, unrestrained specimens in southern Mozambique (14 R. typus and 12 M. alfredi) and eastern Australia (9 M. alfredi) employing a modified Hawaiian hand-sling having a fitted biopsy needle tip in between June ugust 2011. Biopsies of R. typus were extracted laterally among the 1st and 2nd dorsal fin and penetrated 20 mm deep in the skin in to the underlying connective tissue. Biopsies of M. alfredi had been of related size, but have been mostly muscle tissue, extracted from the ventro-posterior region in the pectoral fins away in the physique Mixed Lineage Kinase MedChemExpress cavity. Biopsies were quickly put on ice inside the field and then stored at -20 for as much as three months before analysis. Lipids were extracted overnight working with the modified Bligh and Dyer [12] strategy having a one-phase methanol:chloroform:water (two:1:0.eight by volume) mixture. Phases.