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<p>Investigating marine food webs is often impeded by logistical obstacles, motivating the use of trophic biomarkers such as fatty acids. However, the same impediments, exacerbated by remote field conditions, can make the ideal ultracold storage and transport of fatty acid samples challenging. Here, we demonstrate “dried tissue spots” (DTS) as an ambient-temperature sampling method for marine crabs. DTS, based on dried blood spots developed in human medicine, uses protectant-embedded cards onto which samples are deposited and dried. We tested DTS in a laboratory validation with the green crab (<i>Carcinus maenas</i>) to assess the stability of DTS samples over time. In a field application, we compared traditionally frozen samples to DTS samples collected from the snow crab (<i>Chionoecetes opilio</i>) of different demographic stages. For multivariate analyses of the fatty acid profiles, we applied a logratio selection approach to address statistical limitations in compositional data analysis, comparing results to those of typical methods using percentage data. DTS samples largely reproduced the patterns of frozen samples for both lab and field applications. DTS and frozen samples differed in their fatty acid profiles, but the magnitude of these differences were, on average, ~ 1/15 that of the individual-level variation. Further, logratio- and percentage-based analyses produced similar results, with differences attributable to the variation accounted for by the methods. Further research should optimize DTS and explore its applicability to other invertebrate species and tissues. DTS shows substantial promise to ease fatty acid sampling in challenging field conditions, expanding opportunities to better understand marine trophic relationships and nutrition.</p>

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Enabling remote field sampling of fatty acids in marine crab tissues with ambient-temperature preservation

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月11日

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  • Reyn M. Yoshioka,
  • Maya L. Groner

摘要

Investigating marine food webs is often impeded by logistical obstacles, motivating the use of trophic biomarkers such as fatty acids. However, the same impediments, exacerbated by remote field conditions, can make the ideal ultracold storage and transport of fatty acid samples challenging. Here, we demonstrate “dried tissue spots” (DTS) as an ambient-temperature sampling method for marine crabs. DTS, based on dried blood spots developed in human medicine, uses protectant-embedded cards onto which samples are deposited and dried. We tested DTS in a laboratory validation with the green crab (Carcinus maenas) to assess the stability of DTS samples over time. In a field application, we compared traditionally frozen samples to DTS samples collected from the snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) of different demographic stages. For multivariate analyses of the fatty acid profiles, we applied a logratio selection approach to address statistical limitations in compositional data analysis, comparing results to those of typical methods using percentage data. DTS samples largely reproduced the patterns of frozen samples for both lab and field applications. DTS and frozen samples differed in their fatty acid profiles, but the magnitude of these differences were, on average, ~ 1/15 that of the individual-level variation. Further, logratio- and percentage-based analyses produced similar results, with differences attributable to the variation accounted for by the methods. Further research should optimize DTS and explore its applicability to other invertebrate species and tissues. DTS shows substantial promise to ease fatty acid sampling in challenging field conditions, expanding opportunities to better understand marine trophic relationships and nutrition.