14 June 2014 Last updated at 04:16
By Mark Kinver
Environment reporter, BBC News
Deforestation is reducing the amount of leaf litter falling into rivers and lakes, resulting in less food being available to fish, a study suggests.
Researchers found the amount of food available affected the size of young fish and influenced the number that went on to reach adulthood.
The team said the results illustrated a link between watershed protection and healthy freshwater fish populations.
"We found fish that had almost 70% of their biomass made from carbon that came from trees and leaves instead of aquatic food chain sources," explained lead author Andrew Tanentzap from the University of Cambridge's Department of Plant Sciences.
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