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Project properties |
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| Title | Omega-3 and parasite, is there a connection? |
| Group | Marine Animal Ecology |
| Project type | internship |
| Credits | 24-39 |
| Supervisor(s) | Eleonora Puccinelli
Ana Born Torrijos |
| Examiner(s) | Tinka Murk, Reindert Nijland, Ronald Osinga, Rosa van der Ven, Diede Maas |
| Contact info | eleonora.puccinelli@nioz.nl
ana.born.torrijos@nioz.nl |
| Begin date | 2024/09/01 |
| End date | 2025/09/01 |
| Description | Omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (hereafter omega-3) such as 20:5n-3(EPA) and 22:6n-3 (DHA) are essential for marine consumers health and are acquired through dietary intake. Phytoplankton and microphytobenthos are the main producer of omega-3, with macrozoobenthos being the main primary consumers in shallow coastal environments. Parasites are known to cause behavioral, morphological and/or physiological changes in infected hosts, altering the food intake (quantity or quality), as well as the host’s metabolism and resource use. To date, no information exists on the relationship between omega-3 in consumers and parasitic infections.
This project aims to elucidate if there is a relationship between omega-3 animal’ content and parasite presence. We want to test the hypothesis that non-infected individuals will have a higher amount of omega-3 as they are in better health condition than infected conspecifics. This pioneer study will set the ground for further investigations elucidating the role of parasitism in influencing omega-3 accumulation and transfer to higher trophic levels. Samples for the project will be collected over three sampling events in April, June, and October 2024. During the sampling, specimens of infected and non-infected crabs and snails will be collected from two sites located in the Wadden Sea. Samples will be then analyzed for fatty acid composition in specialized laboratories at NIOZ. |
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