Lipids and Fatty Acids of the White Sea Herring Clupea pallasi marisalbi Berg (Clupeiformes, Clupeidae) from Different Habitats of the White Sea

Habitation conditions significantly affect the physiological and biochemical state of aquatic organisms, including the balance of lipids that performs important functions in cellular metabolism. The lipid and fatty acid profiles of White Sea herring in Dvina, Kandalaksha, and Onega bays, and in the waters of Tersky Shore (the mouth of the Varzuga River) in autumn (after the fattening period) were studied. Different methods—thin-layer, high-performance liquid and gas chromatography—were used for this purpose. Determined heterogeneity on studied parameters of lipid metabolism of fish from different habitats is associated with differences in trophic and hydrological conditions in these bays. Variations of lipid compositions of herring groups can be a reflection of qualitative and quantitative strategies of biochemical adaptations, aimed at compensating the lipid metabolism of fish under different trophic–ecological conditions of habitation in the White Sea.