finmarchicus showed lipid levels comparable to T. longicornis and Eurytemora sp. In the
bigger stages of C. finmarchicus, the lipid level increased and was almost two times higher
in the adult stages compared to the copepodid stages I and II. The percent distribution of
fatty acids showed the same pattern in all copepods and the predominant fatty acids were
DHA (22:6n3), EPA (20:5n3) and the saturated fatty acid 16:0. C. finmarchicus
showed a lower level of DHA and EPA compared to that of the other two copepods and an
increased content of monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids.
The copepodid stages of T. longicornis showed a quite stable total lipid content varying
between 7.1% and 14.2% of DW during 3 years of sampling (Fig. 1A). The variation
between years was not significant ( p>0.001) and a mean lipid level of T. longicornis for
the three periods was 10.1F0.93% (meanFS.D.) (Fig. 1A). Copepodid stages I–III were