Collaborative Dissertation Research: Carbon and Nitrogen Pathways in Lake Ecosytems: The Influence of Nutrients and Food Webs on Benthic-pelagic Links

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9521220 KITCHELL This proposal will test the hypothesis that the relative importance of benthic and pelagic primary production in lake food webs is dependent on lake trophic status and is regulated by fish. Previous results indicate that benthic and pelagic organisms are strongly linked through trophic relationships and form important conduits for carbon and nitrogen flow. Fish structure benthic and pelagic communities and are important vectors of organic material and nutrients between benthic and pelagic habitats. A stable isotope method will be used to integrate this research into a comprehensive understanding of benthic-pelagic trophic links. The stable isotopes will be used to determine the trophic links between pelagic food webs, benthic macroinvertebrate communities, and benthic algae.