Pathways of organic carbon utilization in small lakes:: Results from a whole-lake 13C addition and coupled model

In many small aquatic ecosystems. watershed loading of organic C exceeds autochthonous primary production. Although this allochthonous organic C has long been thought of as refractory, multiple lines of evidence indicate that substantial portions are respired in the receiving aquatic ecosystem. To what extent does this terrestrial C support secondary production of invertebrates and fish? Do current models adequately trace the pathways of allochthonous and autochthonous C through the food web? We evaluated the roles of allochthonous and autochthonous organic C by manipulating C-13 content of dissolved inorganic C in a small, softwater, humic lake, thereby labeling autochthonous primary production for about 20 d. To ensure rapid and sufficient uptake of inorganic C-13, we enriched the take with modest amounts of N and P We constructed a carbon flow model based on the ambient and manipulated levels of C-13 in C compartments in the lake, along with information on key rate processes. Despite the short nature this experiment, several results emerged. (1) Fractionation of photosynthetically assimilated C-13-CO2 plankton (epsilon) is lower (similar to6parts per thousand) than physiologic models would estimate (similar to20parts per thousand). (2) Bacteria respire, but do not assimilate, a large amount of terrestrially derived dissolved organic C (DOC) and pass little of this C to higher trophic levels. (3) The oxidation of terrestrial DOC is the major source of dissolved inorganic C in the take. (4) Zooplankton production, a major food of young-of-year fishes, is predominantly derived from current autochthonous carbon sources under the conditions of this experiment.