Collaborative Research: Terrestrial Carbon Subsidies of Aquatic Food Webs

湖泊中的大部分有机碳来自周围的陆地生态系统。湖泊中陆地碳的退化意味着湖泊食物网可能受到外部来源的支持，而不仅仅是内部初级生产。先前在小湖泊中添加无机碳-13的实验揭示了水生食物网的重要陆地支持。该项目将直接解决陆地支持食物网的相对重要性，这些湖泊的规模是以前研究的湖泊的4-10倍。碳-13将被添加到两个大型湖泊中，并用研究人员开发的几个模型进行分析。结果将决定这些较大湖泊陆地补贴的重要性，这些湖泊在威斯康辛州和密歇根州北部高地的规模处于前四分之一，并代表了全球温带湖泊的一大类别。这项研究将通过评估湖泊大小的差异是否会影响食物网和碳循环，有助于在景观背景下理解湖泊。该项目的更广泛影响包括促进公众对湖泊生态系统的了解，以及对研究生和本科生的研究培训。结果将纳入正在进行的关于北部高地湖区未来的外联努力。

Much of the organic carbon in lakes originates from surrounding terrestrial ecosystems. Degradation of this terrestrial carbon in lakes implies that lake food webs are potentially supported by external sources, rather than solely by internal primary production. Prior experiments in small lakes using inorganic carbon-13 additions revealed significant terrestrial support of aquatic food webs. This project will directly address the relative importance of terrestrial support of food webs in lakes 4-10 times the size of lakes studied previously. Carbon-13 will be added to two large lakes and analyzed with several models developed by the investigators. Results will determine the importance terrestrial subsidies in these larger lakes that are in the top quartile for size in the Northern Highlands of Wisconsin and Michigan and representative of a large class of temperate lakes globally. This research will contribute to understanding lakes in a landscape context by assessing whether differences in lake size influence food webs and carbon cycling. Broader impacts of this project include promoting public understanding of lake ecosystems as well as research training for graduate and undergraduate students. Results will be incorporated into an ongoing outreach effort on the future of the Northern Highland Lake District.