Terrestrial carbohydrates support freshwater zooplankton during phytoplankton deficiency

Freshwater food webs can be partly supported by terrestrial primary production, often deriving from plant litter of surrounding catchment vegetation. Although consisting mainly of poorly bioavailable lignin, with low protein and lipid content, the carbohydrates from fallen tree leaves and shoreline vegetation may be utilized by aquatic consumers. Here we show that during phytoplankton deficiency, zooplankton (Daphnia magna) can benefit from...