Fatty acids as dietary tracers in benthic food webs

Fatty acid (FA) analysis is a well- established tool for studying trophic interactions in marine habitats. However, its application to benthic food webs poses 2 particular challenges. First, unlike pelagic zooplankton, benthic con- sumers have access to different sizes and func- tional groups of primary producers and may con- sume a highly mixed diet. Classes of benthic primary producers are distinct in their overall FA composition, but most do not possess unique marker FAs that can be used to identify their con- tribution to higher trophic levels. Second, unlike mammalian predators, benthic invertebrates have the capacity to significantly modify their dietary FAs and thereby obscure markers for food sources. Controlled feeding studies have been used to dis- tinguish dietary tracer FAs from those that are modified by the consumer in several benthic invertebrates, but more such studies are needed. Despite these challenges, FAs have been used to study trophic structure in a variety of benthic habitats including the deep sea, polar regions, estuaries, and the rocky subtidal zone. However, the complexity of benthic food webs and lack of unique markers impose uncertainties in the inter- pretation of FA data from field studies. Multivari- ate analyses are necessary for analyzing FA datasets, although univariate tests can be useful for comparing levels of informative FAs among food sources and consumers. Combining FA analysis with other lines of evidence, such as sta- ble isotope analysis, offers a more reliable approach to examining trophic interactions in benthic systems.