August 27, 2012

How methane becomes fish food




Methane produced at the bottom of our lakes provides nutrition for microorganisms and eventually becomes an indirect food source for fish. These findings were presented in a one of a kind study that contradicts previous perceptions of lakebed sediment methane stores being lost in the food chain.

Methane is an organic carbon compound containing the fundamental building block of nearly all living material: carbon. It provides an important source of energy and nutrients for bacteria. Methane is produced in oxygen-free environments and is found in abundance at the bottom of lakes.