Sources of dietary lipids in the coral reef blenny Salarias patzneri

The composition of essential fatty acids and biomarkers in the tissues of t he blenny Salarias patzneri were compared to those in detritus and filament ous algae collected from S. patzneri territories in order to assess the rel ative contribution of these 2 resources to the diet. The ratio of 16:1 omeg a7/16:0 and percentage of 18:2 omega6 in S. patzneri body tissue and detrit us was found to be significantly different to filamentous algae samples, su ggesting that detritus was the major source of dietary lipids assimilated b y S. patzneri. High levels of 16:1 omega7 in S. patzneri tissue and detritu s relative to filamentous algae suggest that diatoms are an important compo nent of detrital aggregates and S. patzneri diet. These results demonstrate that coral reef fishes assimilate detrital aggregates and confirm that det ritus is a valuable dietary resource on coral reefs.