T. Mehner, Katrin Attermeyer, Mario Brauns, Soren M. Brothers, J. Diekmann, Ursula Gaedke, Hans-Peter Grossart, J. Koehler, Betty Lischke, N. Meyer, Inga Kristin Scharnweber, J. Syvaranta, M. J. Vanni, S. Hilt
- Ecosystems are generally linked via fluxes of nutrients and energy across their boundaries. For example, freshwater ecosystems in temperate regions may receive significant inputs of terrestrially derived carbon via autumnal leaf litter. This terrestrial particulate organic carbon (POC) is hypothesized to subsidize animal production in lakes, but direct evidence is still lacking. We divided two small eutrophic lakes each into two sections and added isotopically distinct maize litter to the treatment sections to simulate increased terrestrial POC inputs via leaf litter in autumn. We quantified the reliance of aquatic consumers on terrestrial resources (allochthony) in the year subsequent to POC additions by applying mixing models of stable isotopes. We also estimated lake-wide carbon (C) balances to calculate the C flow to the production of the major aquatic consumer groups: benthic macroinvertebrates, crustacean zooplankton, and fish. The sum of secondary production of crustaceans and benthic macroinvertebrates supported by terrestrialEcosystems are generally linked via fluxes of nutrients and energy across their boundaries. For example, freshwater ecosystems in temperate regions may receive significant inputs of terrestrially derived carbon via autumnal leaf litter. This terrestrial particulate organic carbon (POC) is hypothesized to subsidize animal production in lakes, but direct evidence is still lacking. We divided two small eutrophic lakes each into two sections and added isotopically distinct maize litter to the treatment sections to simulate increased terrestrial POC inputs via leaf litter in autumn. We quantified the reliance of aquatic consumers on terrestrial resources (allochthony) in the year subsequent to POC additions by applying mixing models of stable isotopes. We also estimated lake-wide carbon (C) balances to calculate the C flow to the production of the major aquatic consumer groups: benthic macroinvertebrates, crustacean zooplankton, and fish. The sum of secondary production of crustaceans and benthic macroinvertebrates supported by terrestrial POC was higher in the treatment sections of both lakes. In contrast, total secondary and tertiary production (supported by both autochthonous and allochthonous C) was higher in the reference than in the treatment sections of both lakes. Average aquatic consumer allochthony per lake section was 27-40%, although terrestrial POC contributed less than about 10% to total organic C supply to the lakes. The production of aquatic consumers incorporated less than 5% of the total organic C supply in both lakes, indicating a low ecological efficiency. We suggest that the consumption of terrestrial POC by aquatic consumers facilitates a strong coupling with the terrestrial environment. However, the high autochthonous production and the large pool of autochthonous detritus in these nutrient-rich lakes make terrestrial POC quantitatively unimportant for the C flows within food webs.…
MetadatenVerfasserangaben: | T. Mehner, Katrin AttermeyerORCiDGND, Mario Brauns, Soren M. BrothersORCiD, J. Diekmann, Ursula GaedkeORCiDGND, Hans-Peter GrossartORCiDGND, J. Koehler, Betty Lischke, N. Meyer, Inga Kristin ScharnweberORCiDGND, J. Syvaranta, M. J. Vanni, S. HiltORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-015-9933-2 |
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ISSN: | 1432-9840 |
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ISSN: | 1435-0629 |
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Titel des übergeordneten Werks (Englisch): | Ecosystems |
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Verlag: | Springer |
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Verlagsort: | New York |
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Publikationstyp: | Wissenschaftlicher Artikel |
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Sprache: | Englisch |
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Jahr der Erstveröffentlichung: | 2016 |
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Erscheinungsjahr: | 2016 |
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Datum der Freischaltung: | 22.03.2020 |
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Freies Schlagwort / Tag: | benthic food web; carbon budget; ecological efficiency; pelagic food web; stable isotopes; terrestrial subsidy |
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Band: | 19 |
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Seitenanzahl: | 15 |
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Erste Seite: | 311 |
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Letzte Seite: | 325 |
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Fördernde Institution: | TERRALAC-project of Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Leibniz (WGL); IGB Fellowship program in Freshwater Science; German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) |
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Organisationseinheiten: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Biochemie und Biologie |
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Peer Review: | Referiert |
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