Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Modeling the Size Spectrum for Macroinvertebrates and Fishes in Stream Ecosystems
Published on: July 30, 2019
Terrestrial carbon and intraspecific size-variation shape lake ecosystems
Mats Jansson1, Lennart Persson, André M De Roos
1Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, SE-90187 Umeå, Sweden. mats.jansson@emg.umu.se
Abstract:
Conceptual models of lake ecosystem structure and function have generally assumed that energy in pelagic systems is derived from in situ photosynthesis and that its use by higher trophic levels depends on the average properties of individuals in consumer populations. These views are challenged by evidence that allochthonous subsidies of organic carbon greatly influence energy mobilization and transfer and the trophic structure of pelagic food webs, and that size variation within consumer species has major ramifications for lake community dynamics and structure. These discoveries represent conceptual shifts that have yet to be integrated into current views on lake ecosystems. Here, we assess key aspects of energy mobilization and size-structured community dynamics, and show how these processes are intertwined in pelagic food webs.
More Related Videos
14:38Establishment of Microbial Eukaryotic Enrichment Cultures from a Chemically Stratified Antarctic Lake and Assessment of Carbon Fixation Potential
Published on: April 20, 2012
08:56Automatic Image Processing to Determine the Community Size Structure of Riverine Macroinvertebrates
Published on: January 13, 2023
Related Concept Videos
Freshwater Microbial Ecology
What is an Ecosystem?
Marine Microbial Ecology
The Carbon Cycle
What is Biodiversity?
Microbial Mats