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Nutrient concentrations control stream food web productivity
Nutrient concentrations control stream food web productivity
Primary production = organic matter produced
- Photosynthesis by autotrophs (algae and plants)
Respiration = total consumption of organic matter
- Autotrophs and heterotrophs (bacteria and fungi)
Notes:
Nitrogen and Phosphorus are the two key nutrients in the stream food web that limit rates of aquatic primary production and respiration.
These processes are important determinants of ecosystem biomass and trophic structure.
They establish the energetic basis of the stream food web.
Algae and microbes exist in biofilms on rocks in the stream
and if their biotic nutrient demand exceeds nutrient availability,
then primary production and/or respiration will be nutrient limited
which could limit the energetic basis of the food web
Primary Production is
Respiration is