Light intensity shapes food quality for stream grazers, impacting ecosystem balance.
Light intensity in mountain streams affects the quality of food for grazers by changing the nutrient ratios in periphyton. Researchers studied how different light conditions impacted the nutrient composition of grazers like stoneflies and mayflies. They found that under low-light conditions, mayflies had higher carbon-to-nutrient ratios due to changes in periphyton composition. This shows that light availability can influence the balance of nutrients in stream ecosystems.