Death, detritus, and energy flow in aquatic ecosystems

SUMMARY 1. Pelagic trophic structure and energy fluxes are evaluated predominantly on the basis of ingestion of particulate organic matter by living organisms and the effects of consumption on the population dynamics of trophic levels. 2. Population fluxes are not representative of the material and energy fluxes of either the composite pelagic region or the lake ecosystem. Metabolism of particulate and especially dissolved organic detritus from many pelagic and non‐pelagic autochthonous and from allochthonous sources dominates both material and energy fluxes. Because of the very large magnitudes and relative chemical recalcitrance of these detrital sources, the large but slow metabolism of detritus provides an inherent ecosystem stability that energetically dampens the ephemeral, volatile fluctuations of higher trophic levels. 3. The annual time period is the only meaningful interval in comparative quantitative analyses of material and energy fluxes at population, community, and ecosystem levels. 4. Non‐predatory death and metabolism by prokaryotic and protistian heterotrophs dominate. Continued application of animal‐orientated relationships to the integrated, process‐driven couplings of the aquatic ecosystems impedes understanding of quantitative ecosystem pathways and control mechanisms.