Fatty acids composition of migrated seabirds to the coastline of Pakistan as top predators to impact ecosystem variability

Availability of fat-rich food is the critical factor for the migration of seabirds. Predator-prey interaction shapes the food web structure and affects environmental variability. Certain fatty acids are believed to be the significant determining factors for environmental health and act as energy reserves for long distant seabird migration. Three different seabirds species investigated quantitatively for fat content and Fatty Acid composition from Pakistani sea waters were Larus fuscus, Larus ridibundus and Hydroprogne caspia, found significantly different for most of the fatty acid. The average fat contents of L. fuscus, L. ridibundus and H. caspia were 23.57±1.82%, 19.71±2.75% and 33.58±0.08% respectively. This study suggests that monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) were predominantly higher than saturated (SFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) ranges from (43.49-48.07%), (32.88-39.89%) and (14.1-16.22%) respectively.. Palmitic acid and Stearic acid saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids constituted >75%. The dietary fatty acid Oleic acid (C18:1n9) was most abundant with 32-34%. The essential ꞷ-3 fatty acids were found to be lower, whereas ꞷ-6 was found in an appreciable amount with Linoleic acid (C18:2ώ6) as major fatty acid in L. fuscus (7.44%), H. caspia (9.81%) and L. ridibundus (8.99%). ꞷ-3/ꞷ-6 ratio was found less than 1 indicating these seabirds as a substantial source of omega 6 fatty acids. This study is the first report on seabirds’ diet constituents from Pakistan to the best of our knowledge. Further experimental studies may reveal the physiological impact of varying fatty acids from this region.