STUDYING TROPHIC ECOLOGY IN MARINE ECOSYSTEMS USING FATTY ACIDS: A PRIMER ON ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Fatty acids (FA) represent a large group of molecules that comprise the majority of lipids found in all organisms. Their great diversity, biochemical restrictions and, in some cases, unique origin among plants and animals has fostered a number of areas of research, ranging from assessment of animal nutrition and metabolism, to investigating trophic interactions and ecosystem structure. Over the past three decades, we have observed the use of FA develop from a potential tool for delineating food webs (Ackman and Eaton 1966) to a powerful technique for quantitative assessment of predator diets (Iverson et al. that have the FA found in predator found in have and et al. et al. et al. et al. and quantitative of et…