Boyen, J.

De Troch, M.

Domínguez, L.

Guifarro, Z.

Mensens, C.

Vlaeminck, B

Wellens, S.

Open Marine Archive

32 
Oral presentation Pre-doc level 
Fatty acid profiling of copepods to meet SDG 2, 13 and 14: Comparing 
temperature responses in a tropical and temperate estuary  
Wellens Siel1, Mensens Christoph1, Boyen Jens1, Guifarro Zara1, Vlaeminck Bruno1, Dominguez 
Luis2 and De Troch Marleen1 
1  University of Gent, Department of Biology, Research group Marine Biology, Campus Sterre, 
Krijgslaan 281/S8, 9000 Ghent, Belgium 
 E-mail: siel.wellens@ugent.be  
2  Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Centro del Agua y Desarrollo Sustentable 
(CADS) Vía Perimetral 5, Guayaquil, Ecuador 
 
Climate change is a focal point in the UN sustainable development goals (SDG 13: take urgent 
action to combat climate change and its impacts). Predicted temperature changes will have a 
disproportionally higher impact on coastal ecosystems, such as estuaries. In these estuaries, 
benthic harpacticoid copepods (Crustacea, Copepoda) play a pivotal role at the base of the food 
web as they are the main consumers of primary producers such as diatoms and serve as a food 
source for higher trophic levels like fish. Their high levels of fatty acids (e.g. omega-3, omega-6), 
are essential for the maintenance of physiological functions in many organisms in this food 
web, including humans. In view of their role in the marine food web, balanced fatty acid profiles 
in these copepods are indicators for a healthy and stable ecosystem and any change in these 
profiles is expected to cascade through the food web and to have implications on the use of 
marine resources as a food source for humans (SDG 14: conserve and sustainably use the oceans, 
seas and marine resources). 
 
In this study, responses to increased temperatures were studied and compared between two 
benthic copepods: Platychelipus littoralis, from the Westerschelde estuary and Canthocamptus 
sp. from the Guayas estuary in Ecuador. With increased temperatures, the fatty acid profile of 
these copepods will change in order to adapt to the environment. These changes in fatty acid 
profile are expected to be more pronounced in tropical species which are naturally less 
subjected to daily and seasonal temperature variability, in contrast, temperate species are 
expected to be able to adapt better in changing environments. 
 
In controlled lab experiments, the copepod species were subjected to different elevated 
temperature treatments. We found that with increased temperatures, concentrations of 
essential fatty acids such as EPA and DHA (omega-3) tend to decrease. Although this decrease is 
less pronounced than expected, it can induce unfavorable effects on the higher trophic levels, 
which need these primary consumers for the majority of their fatty acid uptake. 
 
Also humans rely on marine resources for the uptake of certain essential fatty acids that cannot 
be obtained through other food sources. In Ecuador, coastal communities largely depend on 
marine resources for their daily nutrition. When the essential fatty acid content in marine 
organisms is decreasing due to climate change, this can result in malnutrition in these 
vulnerable communities (SDG 2: end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and 
promote sustainable agriculture). 
 
Keywords: Climate change; Copepods; Lipids; Westerschelde; Guayas 
  


Fatty acid profiling of copepods to meet SDG 2, 13 and 14: comparing temperature responses in a tropical and temperate estuary

Wellens, Siel

Mensens, Christoph

Boyen, Jens

Zara, Guifarro

Vlaeminck, Bruno

Dominguez, Luis

De Troch, Marleen

Ghent University Academic Bibliography

Fatty acid profiling of copepods to meet SDG 2, 13 and 14 : comparing temperature responses in a tropical and temperate estuary

http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/324965.pdf

Fatty acid profiling of copepods to meet SDG 2, 13 and 14: comparing temperature responses in a tropical and temperate estuary

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Open Marine Archive

Ghent University Academic Bibliography