Cause-Effect Relationships in Energy Flow, Trophic Structure, and Interspecific Interactions
@article{Hairston1993CauseEffectRI, title={Cause-Effect Relationships in Energy Flow, Trophic Structure, and Interspecific Interactions}, author={N. Hairston}, journal={The American Naturalist}, year={1993}, volume={142}, pages={379 - 411} }
Measurements of the efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels are consistent with the hypothesis that it is trophic structure that controls the fraction of energy consumed at each trophic level, rather than energetics controlling trophic structure. Moreover, trophic structure is determined by competitive and predator-prey interactions. In freshwater pelagic communities, the collective efficiency of herbivorous plankton in consuming primary producers is up to 10 times as great as is… CONTINUE READING
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