Sources of carbon and sulfur nutrition for consumers in three meromictic lakes of New York State1

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Abstract
The trophic importance of bacterioplankton as a source of carbon and sulfur nutrition for consumers in meromictic lakes was tested using stable carbon (δ13C) and sulfur (δ34S) isotopic measurements. Studies in three lakes near Syracuse, New York, showed that most consumers ultimately derive their C and S nutrition from a mixture of terrestrial detritus, phytoplankton, and littoral vegetation, rather than from bacterioplankton. Food webs in these meromictic lakes are thus similar to those in other lakes that lack dense populations of bacterioplankton.