| Summary: | Plankton are traditionally viewed as the basis for limnetic food webs, with zooplankton acting as an energy gateway between phytoplanktonic primary producers and fish. Often, benthic production is considered to be important primarily to the benthos and in shallow systems, such as ponds, wetland, and littoral zones. Here we report food web analyses of arctic lakes in the Toolik Lake region of Alaska, indicating that benthic production is the primary source of carbon for adults of all species of fish present, including benthic and pelagic species. Stomach content studies have shown that zooplankton are important foods for young-of-year fishes in this region. However, stable isotope analyses suggest that the nutrition of adult fish is independent of the plankton. We examine the consequences of this trophic pathway to zooplankton, benthos, and fish.
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