Biogenic methane contributes to the food web of a large, shallow lake

Summary Biogenic methane as an alternative carbon and energy source for freshwater organisms has been receiving increasing attention, but the phenomenon is still poorly understood for shallow lakes. We measured the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope signatures (δ13C, δ15N) for key groups of pelagic and benthic organisms, including crustacean zooplankton, chironomid larvae, young-of-the-year and adult fish, to assess whether biogenic methane contributes to pelagic and benthic food webs in a large, shallow lake, Lake Vortsjarv, Estonia. In the southern part of the lake, covered by macrophytes, crustacean zooplankton showed strong seasonal variation of δ13C, with the lowest values occurring in…