Ecological Stoichiometry — Redfield C:N:P Ratios

Redfield Ratio: Marine phytoplankton maintain C:N:P ≈ 106:16:1 (atomic), a universal stoichiometric attractor. Growth Rate Hypothesis (Elser et al.): fast-growing organisms have low C:P and N:P because ribosomes (rRNA) are P-rich — P demand scales with growth rate. Liebig's Law: growth is limited by the element in shortest supply relative to demand: μ = μ_max · min(S_C/d_C, S_N/d_N, S_P/d_P). Homeostasis: strict homeostats maintain body stoichiometry despite variable supply (animals) vs. conformers (plants/algae vary with supply).