Trophic ecology of two cold-water coral species from the Mediterranean Sea revealed by lipid biomarkers and compound-specific isotope analyses
Trophic ecology of two cold-water coral species from the Mediterranean Sea revealed by lipid biomarkers and compound-specific isotope analyses
复制标题
通过脂质生物标志物和化合物特异性同位素分析揭示地中海两种冷水珊瑚物种的营养生态
作者：
M. Naumann;I. Tolosa;M. Taviani;R. Grover;C. Ferrier‐Pagès
石珊瑚冷水珊瑚 (CWC) 是全球深海珊瑚礁环境中的关键生态系统工程师。然而，我们目前对其营养生态的了解仍然有限，特别是在地中海等温带海洋地区。因此，本研究通过采用脂质生物标记技术和对在地中海 CWC 栖息地采样的珊瑚组织、悬浮颗粒有机物 (sPOM) 和表面沉积物进行化合物特异性同位素分析，研究了 CWC Desmophyllum dianthus 和 Madrepora oculata 的营养生态学。 CWC 表现出高含量的多不饱和脂肪酸 (FA)（分别≥ 49% 和 32% FA）和胆固醇（≥67% 甾醇），而 sPOM 和沉积物样品富含饱和 FA（≥44% FA）和谷甾醇（≥35% 甾醇）。 CWC 含有一些罕见的超长链多不饱和 FA (>C22) 和 sPOM 和沉积物样品中不存在的麦角甾醇。我们的研究结果表明，地中海 CWC 主要消耗活体食物，而不是碎屑 sPOM 或重悬浮沉积物，并为优先捕食杂食性和肉食性浮游动物提供了证据。总体而言，这些发现为地中海两种常见化学水域的营养生态学提供了新的见解。
Scleractinian cold-water corals (CWC) act as key ecosystem engineers in deep-sea reef environments worldwide. However, our current understanding of their trophic ecology is still limited, particularly in understudied temperate oceanic regions such as the Mediterranean Sea. Hence, this study investigated the trophic ecology of the CWC Desmophyllum dianthus and Madrepora oculata by employing lipid biomarker techniques and compound-specific isotope analyses on coral tissues, suspended particulate organic matter (sPOM), and surface sediment sampled in a Mediterranean CWC habitat. CWC exhibited high contents of poly- and monounsaturated fatty acids (FA) (≥49 and 32 % of FA, respectively) and cholesterol (≥67 % of sterols), while sPOM and sediment samples were enriched in saturated FA (≥44 % of FA) and sitosterol (≥35 % of sterols). CWC contained some rare very long-chained polyunsaturated FA (>C22) and ergosterol absent in sPOM and sediment samples. Our results indicate that Mediterranean CWC mainly consume living food items, rather than detrital sPOM or resuspended sediment, and provide evidence for preferred feeding on omnivorous and carnivorous zooplankton. Overall, these findings provide new insights to the trophic ecology of two common CWC from the Mediterranean Sea.