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FATTY‐ACID ECOLOGY OF A TIDAL MARSH 1
Author(s) -
Jeffries H. Perry
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1972.17.3.0433
Subject(s) - salt marsh , detritus , invertebrate , biology , food chain , ecology , competition (biology) , trophic level , marine invertebrates
A salt marsh has differing biochemical patterns: The grasses have a terrestrial pattern rich in 16–18 C fatty acids, the animals a marine pattern dominated by long‐chain polyunsaturates. The patterns vary, but they remain far more distinct than at corresponding positions in the structure of an offshore community. Each pattern is reflected in the diet of two species of marsh fishes. Their most probable diet is a mixture of 5 parts detritus to 1 part marine invertebrates. This ratio is also a boundary condition: It cannot go any higher and still account for the patterns occurring in the digestive tracts. Food is so abundant during spring that despite identical diets the two species could avoid competition.