Introduction
3
The critical role of lipids in fry survival is the driving force behind the lipid
research reported in Yngvar Olsen's chapter, "Lipids and Essential Fatty Acids in
Aquatic Food Webs: What Can Freshwater Ecologists Learn from MaricultureT
This chapter illustrates the tremendous work that has been done by mariculturists
to understand the fatty acid requirements of many economically important fish
species and how it may be applicable to freshwater work. The author manages to
carry the story of essential fatty acids requirements of zooplankton and fish fry
through the aquatic food web to humans.
Lipophilic contaminants closely follow the movement of lipids along the food
web. Peter Landrum and Susan Fisher detail this process in their chapter, "Influence of Lipids on the Bioaccumulation and Trophic Transfer of Organic Contaminants in Aquatic Organisms." In this chapter, they explain from first principles
how the lipids influence contaminant transfer at all stages of bioaccumulation.
The essential contradiction of this book on aquatic lipids is that lipids by
definition do not dissolve in water. The mutual insolubility gives rise to much of
the water-surface microlayer and the foam, the subject of Guillermo Napolitano
and Daniel Cicerone's contribution entitled "Lipids in Water-Surface Microlayers
and Foams." This interface forms an essential link between the worlds above and
below the surface of the water, and the chemical processes that go on there have a
large impact on the composition and abundance of chemicals that enter the water.
The complex chemistry of the interface itself poses unique challenges to the
organisms that reside or pass through it.
The remarkably diverse physical nature and physiological role of lipids are the
topic of the final chapter, "Comparison of Lipids in Marine and Freshwater
Organisms." In this chapter, Robert Ackman draws on years of experience in lipid
research and cites many diverse examples in which lipids playa part in the marine
and freshwater ecosystems.
The editors and contributors of this book are indebted to the many other individuals who made this book possible. In particular, we extend our heartfelt thanks
to our reviewers:
• Gunnel Ahlgren, Upsala University, Institute of Limnology, Upsala, Sweden
• William W. Christie, The Scottish Crop Research Institute, Dundee, Scotland
• Maureen H. Conte, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts,
USA
• Les Dickson, National Hydrology Research Institute, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
• Gerhard Kattner, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research,
Bremerhaven, Germany
• Christopher Langdon, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, Oregon, USA
• David R.S. Lean, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
• Joseph B. Rasmussen, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
• Barbara Santer, Max Planck Institute for Limnology, PlOn, Germany
• John R. Sargent, NERC Unit of Aquatic Biochemistry, University of Stirling,
Stirling, UK
• Peter A. Thompson, CSIRO Marine Laboratory, Western Australia, Australia
3
The critical role of lipids in fry survival is the driving force behind the lipid
research reported in Yngvar Olsen's chapter, "Lipids and Essential Fatty Acids in
Aquatic Food Webs: What Can Freshwater Ecologists Learn from MaricultureT
This chapter illustrates the tremendous work that has been done by mariculturists
to understand the fatty acid requirements of many economically important fish
species and how it may be applicable to freshwater work. The author manages to
carry the story of essential fatty acids requirements of zooplankton and fish fry
through the aquatic food web to humans.
Lipophilic contaminants closely follow the movement of lipids along the food
web. Peter Landrum and Susan Fisher detail this process in their chapter, "Influence of Lipids on the Bioaccumulation and Trophic Transfer of Organic Contaminants in Aquatic Organisms." In this chapter, they explain from first principles
how the lipids influence contaminant transfer at all stages of bioaccumulation.
The essential contradiction of this book on aquatic lipids is that lipids by
definition do not dissolve in water. The mutual insolubility gives rise to much of
the water-surface microlayer and the foam, the subject of Guillermo Napolitano
and Daniel Cicerone's contribution entitled "Lipids in Water-Surface Microlayers
and Foams." This interface forms an essential link between the worlds above and
below the surface of the water, and the chemical processes that go on there have a
large impact on the composition and abundance of chemicals that enter the water.
The complex chemistry of the interface itself poses unique challenges to the
organisms that reside or pass through it.
The remarkably diverse physical nature and physiological role of lipids are the
topic of the final chapter, "Comparison of Lipids in Marine and Freshwater
Organisms." In this chapter, Robert Ackman draws on years of experience in lipid
research and cites many diverse examples in which lipids playa part in the marine
and freshwater ecosystems.
The editors and contributors of this book are indebted to the many other individuals who made this book possible. In particular, we extend our heartfelt thanks
to our reviewers:
• Gunnel Ahlgren, Upsala University, Institute of Limnology, Upsala, Sweden
• William W. Christie, The Scottish Crop Research Institute, Dundee, Scotland
• Maureen H. Conte, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts,
USA
• Les Dickson, National Hydrology Research Institute, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
• Gerhard Kattner, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research,
Bremerhaven, Germany
• Christopher Langdon, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, Oregon, USA
• David R.S. Lean, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
• Joseph B. Rasmussen, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
• Barbara Santer, Max Planck Institute for Limnology, PlOn, Germany
• John R. Sargent, NERC Unit of Aquatic Biochemistry, University of Stirling,
Stirling, UK
• Peter A. Thompson, CSIRO Marine Laboratory, Western Australia, Australia