Date of Award
12-1-2019
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Zoology
First Advisor
Whiles, Matthew
Abstract
The boundaries between freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems can be areas of important subsidy transfers. These subsidies, such as leaf litter inputs to streams or aquatic emerging insects into riparian zones, link food webs and provide benefits to consumers in the form of nutrients and energy. Subsidies from aquatic systems tend to have high levels of essential long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) that are only produced by certain forms of aquatic algae. These LC-PUFAs are highly important in growth, development, and other metabolic functions across animal groups (Brett and Muller-Navarra 1997, Gladyshev et al. 2009).
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