The %DHA in larval PLwas also significantly positively correlated
to larval DWat 17 dph, whereas the relationship to survival was positive, but not significantly correlated
across the three diets. We conclude that cod larvae exhibited a low capacity for de novo PL synthesis based on
dietary TAG, the normal pathway of adult fish and humans. The 17 dph cod larvae instead synthesised their PL
through re-acylation of digested dietary PL. It then follows that only a dietary PL composition close to the PL composition
of larval cod, like in PL of many copepods, can secure high DHA incorporation in larval PL, and ultimately
high larval growth and survival. We suggest that the DHA requirement of cod larvae cannot be easily met with
B. plicatilis Nevada and call for new approaches of larval feeding.