Comparing Gas Chromatographic Techniques Used in Fatty Acid Profiling of Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinusursinus) and Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopiasjubatus) from Lovushki Island Complex, Russia
Kathryn E. Young, Sarah M. Quinn, Stephen J. Trumble

Abstract
Northern fur seal (NFS, Callorhinusursinus, n = 22) and Steller sea lion (SSL, Eumetopiasjubatus, n = 12) blubber samples were collected from adults occupying the same rookery near the Lovushki Island complex, Russia. The objective of this study was to compare identified fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) using gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) between species for each lipid class (saturated, SFA; monounsaturated, MUFA; polyunsaturated, PUFA). GC-FID identified an average of 26 FAMEs from each species against a set of 37 FAMEs. ANOVA detected differences between detectors and species, with GC-MS recovering greater numbers of total FAMEs but with fewer SFA detected. Interestingly, the GC-MS recovered greater numbers of FAMEs for NFS when compared to SSL. The use of both GC-FID and GC-MS, rather than solely one method, seems appropriate in order to avoid drawing spurious conclusions regarding potential resource partitioning in ecological studies

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