The feasibility of assessing the diets of minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in the East Sea through fatty acid composition in blubber and stable isotopic ratio of skin

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• 作者：Ah-Ra Ko ; Se-Jong Ju ; Seok-Gwan Choi ; Kyung-Hoon Shin
• 关键词：Key wordsminke whale ; feeding ecology ; fatty acids ; stable isotopes ; East Sea (Japan Sea)
• 刊名：Ocean Science Journal
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：September 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：51
• 期：3
• 页码：397-410
• 全文大小：590 KB
• 刊物类别：Earth and Environmental Science
• 刊物主题：Geosciences
  Oceanography
  Waste Water Technology, Water Pollution Control, Water Management and Aquatic Pollution
  
• 出版者：Korean Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI) and the Korean Society of Oceanography, co-p
• ISSN：2005-7172
• 卷排序：51

文摘

To track the diet of minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in the East Sea (Japan Sea), a conjoint analysis of fatty acids and C and N stable isotopes was performed on blubber and skin from the whale and its potential prey. The total lipid content in the blubber of minke whales ranged from 37.9% to 82.7% of wet mass (mean ± SD, 63.1 ± 17.2%), with triacylglycerols being the dominant lipids (96.9%–99.2% of total lipids). The lipid and fatty acid (FA) contents were systematically stratified throughout the depth of the blubber layers; contents of the dominant monounsaturated FAs (MUFAs), including 18:1ω9 and 16:1ω7, increased from the innermost layer to the outermost layer, whereas contents of saturated FAs (SFAs) and polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs) were higher in the innermost layer than in the outermost layer. This stratification is related to the different physiological roles of the blubber layers; e.g., thermoregulation, streaming, and buoyancy. A comparison of the FA compositions of the innermost layer of minke whales with those of potential prey indicates that FA compositions in the whales are similar to those of Pacific herring. In addition, stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) suggest that minke whale and Pacific herring have the same or similar diets. Therefore, the diets of minke whale from the East Sea (Japan Sea) could be inferred from information on the diet of the Pacific herring, although FA compositions and stable isotope ratios for Pacific herring would not exactly reflect the whale’s diet. Although the very limited number of samples was used in this study, our preliminary findings are very promising to help understand the feeding ecology of minke whales in the East Sea (Japan Sea).