Allochthonous leaf litter falls into ponds, where they provide microhabitats and energy sources for microbes and invertebrates. After microbial colonization, benthic macroinvertebrates colonize and begin to further process leaf litter, supplying the upper levels of the food web with energy via trophic transfer. Hydrological fluctuations are expected to drastically alter pond community assembly and decrease energy assimilation across the food web, with severity likely to increase as climate zones shift, but the interaction of leaf litter with lentic macrophytes has not been studied. The purpose of this study was to illuminate how interactions between drought and macrophytes influence the detrital food web. Specifically, we aimed to (1) quantify the differences in leaf litter decomposition, (2) macroinvertebrates community structure, and (3) carbon and nitrogen flux from leaf litter to aquatic macroinvertebrates in experimental ponds with known macrophyte communities and hydrologic fluctuations at the Lewisville Aquatic Environment Research Facility (LAERF) in North Texas. Sycamore leaf packs labelled with ¹³C and ¹⁵N were deployed in ponds to measure leaf decomposition and trace macroinvertebrate nutrient assimilation in a lentic system. After a six-week establishment period, three ponds underwent a two-week dry-down period (emulating a drought), while three remained filled (emulating ambient, non-drought conditions). After the 2-week dry-down phase, drought ponds were flooded to simulate hydrologic fluctuation. Leaf packs were added to cages with focal macrophytes: forty-nine leaf packs were added in each pond, with three cages without plants in each pond serving as controls to elucidate ambient macroinvertebrate communities in the ponds. The experiment started in October and was designed to emulate natural dry-down conditions and leaf-drop phenology typical of ponds in the central plains region. After seven weeks post-rewetting, packs were harvested, flash frozen, and transported for storage until further processing. Results from this study will inform how fluctuating hydrological regimes interact with macrophyte communities to influence leaf litter decomposition, macroinvertebrate biodiversity, and carbon and nitrogen fluxes up the detrital food web. Understanding how nutrient subsidies are impacted by drought in ponded systems is critical for understanding how ecosystems are linked and how these linkages are expected to change in the Anthropocene.