Open AccessNutritional support of inland aquatic food webs by aged carbon and organic matter
Author(s) -
Bellamy Amber R.,
Bauer James E.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2378-2242
DOI - 10.1002/lol2.10044
Subject(s) - aquatic ecosystem , ecosystem , food web , environmental science , biomass (ecology) , primary producers , dissolved organic carbon , abundance (ecology) , organic matter , ecology , freshwater ecosystem , total organic carbon , nutrient , biology , phytoplankton
Aged (typically tens to thousands of years old) forms of non‐living carbon (C) and organic matter (OM) predominate in many inland water ecosystems. Advances in the methodologies used to measure natural abundance radiocarbon ( 14 C) have led to increased use of natural 14 C as both a source and age tracer in aquatic ecosystem and food web studies. Here, we review (1) Δ 14 C values and ages of C and OM typically found in different inland water systems, (2) the mechanisms through which these materials enter inland water ecosystems, and (3) all available 14 C data on aquatic consumers across a range of inland water ecosystem types. Using Δ 14 C values of aquatic consumers and their potential nutritional resources, we estimate contributions of aged C and OM to aquatic consumer biomass. We conclude that in nearly every case, one or more forms of aged C and/or OM contribute to aquatic consumer nutrition in inland water ecosystems.