Fatty acid composition of macroinvertebrate scrapers in relation to environmental conditions in subtropical mountain streams

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 29; no. 53; pp. 81037 - 81047
• Main Authors: Wang, Xingzhong, Li, Jie, Tan, Xiang, Wang, Weibo, Zheng, Ying
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.11.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bellamya aeruginosa; Canopies; canopy; climate; Climate change; Composition; Correlation analysis; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecosystem; Ecotoxicology; Empirical analysis; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental conditions; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental science; Factor analysis; Fatty acid composition; Fatty Acids; Fatty Acids, Omega-3; Food chains; Food webs; Invertebrates; Macroinvertebrates; Mathematical analysis; Mountain streams; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; principal component analysis; Principal components analysis; reproduction; Research Article; Rivers; Scrapers; spring; Streams; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Water Quality; Grazers; Stream management; Riparian canopy; Environmental variables; Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-21265-z

Biochemical fatty acids (FAs) in vivo are essential to the growth and reproduction of animals including macroinvertebrates in streams and are subject to ambient abiotic variables. However, the main abiotic drivers of FA composition in macroinvertebrate scrapers are varying and uncertain. The aim of this research was to quantify the contributions of abiotic variables, including stream physical, chemical, and climatic variables, to the variation of FAs of macroinvertebrate functional feeding group-scrapers (e.g., Bellamya aeruginosa, Radix swinhoe, Heptagenia sp., and Stenelmis sp.). Stream physical, chemical, and climatic variables and the FAs of scrapers were measured in six subtropical streams during spring. The principal component analysis (PCA) indicated the parameters responsible for FA variation were mainly related to polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), saturated fatty acids (SAFAs), ω3 PUFA, and ω6 PUFA. Multiple factor analysis (MFA) showed that the FA profiles of scrapers strongly correlated with the physical variables. Specifically, the correlation analysis showed that PUFA and terrestrial FA were significantly positively associated with canopy cover, and in contrast that SAFA was negatively correlated with canopy cover. Although water quality and climate variables did not have a good relationship with FAs, they had a strong correlation with physical variables. This research suggested that the influence of environmental variables (e.g., stream physical, chemical, and climatic variables) on FAs of macroinvertebrate scrapers has complex paths. This study provides a theoretical basis for stream management and an empirical framework for the construction of an interactive network beyond food webs that includes environmental variables.