Aquatic food web tied to land
Millbrook, NY – A distant relative of shrimp, zooplankton are an important food source for fish and other aquatic animals. Long characterized as algae feeders, a new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports that nearly a third of zooplankton diets are supported by material that originates on land in lake watersheds.
The study brings scientists one step closer to clarifying the role that watershed inputs play in aquatic food webs. While it has been recognized that animals living at the bottom of lakes and streams rely, in ...
