New tools—Surprising findings: A new study shows human impacts cause relatively little changes in energy flow on coral reefs

Quantifying how energy moves through ecosystems has been a central objective for ecologists since the early development of the field because it helps to understand how and why food webs are structured the way they are. Yet, for as long as it has been of intellectual interest, it has also been a logistical challenge. Ramirez and colleagues employ cutting-edge stable isotope techniques to show that, in contrast to expectations, human impacts do not strongly alter energy pathways in coral reef ecosystems.