Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Pcb Food Web Dynamics Quantify Nutrient And Energy Flow In Aquatic Ecosystems, Anne M. Mcleod, Gord Paterson, Ken G. Drouillard, Douglas G. Haffner

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications

Measuring in situ nutrient and energy flows in spatially and temporally complex aquatic ecosystems represents a major ecological challenge. Food web structure, energy and nutrient budgets are difficult to measure, and it is becoming more important to quantify both energy and nutrient flow to determine how food web processes and structure are being modified by multiple stressors. We propose that polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners represent an ideal tracer to quantify in situ energy and nutrient flow between trophic levels. Here, we demonstrate how an understanding of PCB congener bioaccumulation dynamics provides multiple direct measurements of energy and nutrient flow in …