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We constructed plankton food webs for 515 lakes in northeastern North America on the basis of zooplankton species presence and diet data. Analysis of these webs indicated that glacial lakes containing the predatory species Mysis have more trophic levels and a greater incidence of omnivory than is typical of other lakes and a variety of other aquatic and terrestrial communities. Furthermore, this degree of complexity is greater than predicted by theoretical analyses of model food web dynamics. We discuss methodological and theoretical limitations of food web studies and hypothesize that a relatively high incidence of cannibalism, reciprocal predation, life history omnivory, and close linkage between omnivory and high trophic position contribute to the structural stability of glacial lake plankton communities.
Sprules et al. (Fri,) studied this question.