Riparian buffers maintain aquatic trophic structure in agricultural landscapes.

ABSTRACT: Local and regional habitat conditions associated with agricultural activity can fundamentally alter aquatic ecosystems. Increased nutrient inputs, channelization and reduced riparian habitat both upstream and locally contribute to the degradation of stream ecosystems and their function. Here, we examine stream food webs in watersheds that feed into Lake Erie to determine the effects of agricultural land cover on major food web energy pathways and trophic structure. Given that higher agricultural intensity can increase nutrient runoff and reduce the riparian zone and litter in-fall into streams, we predicted that generalist fish would derive less energy from the terrestrial pathway and become more omnivorous. Consistent with these predictions, we show that both mean terrestrial energy use a

SUBMITTER: Champagne EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8889199 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature