Lane et a!.: Ontogenetic and temporal variability in the fat content and fatty acid composition of Clupea harengus 
119 
significant, fish from 2008 had the highest 
lipid content of any year in the study (Fig. 
2) and also exhibited significant variation 
from the other years in their fatty acid sig- 
natures. Although significant differences 
were observed in the fatty acid compos- 
ition of herring by year, these differences 
were not concentrated in any individual 
fatty acids (such as the biologically import- 
ant polyunsaturated fatty acids) but were 
spread consistently throughout the entire 
suite of fatty acids sampled. These differ- 
ences underscore the importance of meas- 
uring prey quality on annual scales to ac- 
count for this variation. The source of the 
annual variation in total lipid content and 
fatty acid composition is not known and 
could be related to many factors including 
variation in prey availability or climatic 
shifts (Litz et ah, 2010), but data for these 
factors are not currently available for the 
Bay of Fundy. 
The seasonal variation in Atlantic her- 
ring lipid content and composition was not 
unexpected, considering the fall spawn- 
ing habits of herring in the Bay of Fundy 
(Boyar et ah, 1973). We found summer fish 
had significantly more lipid than winter 
fish (Fig. 3) and this high lipid content may 
reflect lipid storage in the summer before 
spawning occurs, and it may also reflect 
low prey availability in the winter for her- 
ring (Murison and Gaskin, 1989; Michaud 
and Taggart, 2007). However, almost all 
the fish in this study were sexually im- 
mature; therefore, even preparation for 
spawning may cause a shift in fatty acid 
composition. The differences in fatty acid 
composition may also be indicative of varia- 
tion in the foraging habits of Atlantic her- 
ring throughout the year. The SIMPER 
analysis identified 20:5//-3 and 22:1/1-11 
as the most important fatty acids contrib- 
uting to the seasonal differences in fatty 
acid signatures (Table 4). The data showed 
concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids ne- 
cessary for growth and development (Sar- 
gent et ah, 1988; Pond, 1998) are higher 
in summer fish than in winter fish. Spe- 
cifically, the concentration of 20:5n-3 in 
winter fish was 4.24% ±1.41%, compared to 
6.89% ±1.38% in summer fish. In contrast, 
winter fish had higher concentrations of 
long-chain monounsaturated fatty acids, 
typically used for energy storage over win- 
ter (Hadley, 1985), than did summer fish. 
Specifically, the concentration of 22:1//-11 
in winter fish was 25.91% ±4.64, compared 
to 20.89% ±2.98% in summer fish, repre- 
senting an increase of almost 25%. Overall, 
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