Antarctic Krill Sterol and Lipid Fatty Acid Composition Over One Year

Australian Ocean Data Network provides data on fatty acid and sterol composition in Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba). The dataset captures seasonal variations in structural and storage lipids from fisheries samples collected over one year. It was last updated on 2026-04-18.

Use Cases

• Modeling krill dietary sources based on fatty acid biomarkers like 18:4n-3 and 16:1n-7c.
• Analyzing seasonal feeding shifts between omnivorous and carnivorous diets based on biomarker percentages.
• Studying the allocation of essential fatty acids (20:5n-3, 22:6n-3) to cell membrane phospholipids.
• Investigating the seasonal relationship between cholesterol sterol percentages and krill physiology.

Strengths

• Data covers seasonal variation over one year, allowing temporal dietary comparisons.
• Analysis separates fatty acids by lipid class (triacylglycerols and phospholipids), which the description notes is a methodological strength.
• Focuses on a key Antarctic species (Euphausia superba) with specific biomarker data.

Limitations

• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via data_gov_au.

Collection Method

Fatty acid analysis of fisheries samples from Antarctic krill.

Time Range

Samples obtained over one year (specific years not stated).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-18 18:03:10.364590; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Antarctic region.