Lipid and fatty acid profiles of lake trout eggs from four Great Lakes and Cayuga Lake

Lipids and fatty acids are important nutrients that have often been linked to vital processes during the development of fish embryos. Variable levels of certain fatty acids in diets of adult fish can have profound impact of offspring survival. Each of the Great Lakes sustains a diverse prey fish assemblage and provides top predators with potentially different fatty acid profiles in their diet. We compared lipid level and fatty acid composition of lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, eggs from lakes Ontario, Michigan, Huron, Superior, and Cayuga Lake to document potential differences variable prey assemblage can have on egg lipid and fatty acid contents. We also monitored offspring survival to study potential relationships between egg fatty acid content and progeny success. Preliminary results indicated significant differences in egg lipid content among systems. Eggs from Lake Michigan (9.7 ± 0.6%), Lake Ontario (9.4 ± 0.7%) and Cayuga Lake (9.5 ± 0.7%) had the highest average percent lipid content where as eggs from Lake Huron (8.4 ± 0.5%) and Lake Superior (8.7 ± 0.6%) had the lowest average percent lipid content. Fatty acid profiles and survival to pigmented eyed stage will be presented.