Ecosystem Structure, Format, and Change
Trevor Hyland sci/256 July 20, 2015
University Of Phoenix

Ecosystem Structure, Format, and Change
Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine late in North American, the 16th deepest lake in the world and is also one of the largest lake in America it is located in Sierra Nevada and is a freshwater lake over 1,600 feet deep which makes it the second deepest lake in the united states. The lake is at the heart of a comprehensive ecosystem and contains rich aquatic life and has a range of native species for example, the lake is home to residence, suckers and chub. “The ecosystem of the Lake Tahoe Basin has been dramatically altered since European settlers began to settle around the lake in the middle of the last century. Human disturbances, including introduced species, fire suppression, past overgrazing and logging, urbanization, roads, intensive recreational use, and air pollution, have affected not only the clarity of the lake, but the forest's ability to maintain the function, diversity, and resiliency of its components” (Tahoecam.com).
At the end of the 19th century, along with other issues such as drought, thinning and excessive rainfall, Lake Tahoe now has overcrowded and aged trees, yet with a 25% to 30% tree mortality which makes the danger of fires very severe (Tahoecam.com).
When it comes to the quality of the water in the lake, human activities over the last 130 years have done the most damage yet the human activities in the lake have acted as the biggest impetus to restore the water quality. Since 1959 the rate of algal growth has quadrupled in Lake Tahoe: “This increase in growth is due to the excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the Lake. These two nutrients have become unnaturally abundant in the lake because of human caused disturbances. The primary anthropogenic sources are accelerated erosion, fertilizer use, car exhaust and urban runoff” (ucdavis.edu). Human activities have caused major issues in the ecological imbalance of the waters and life system of the lake. The environmental researchers have discovered the presence of smallmouth bass (who are a highly aggressive type of fish for Lake Tahoe) the fish preys on native species and experts fear for the wellbeing of the dace. Until the early 1980s, nutrient-limitation studies showed that primary productivity in the lake was nitrogen-limited. Now, after a half-century of accelerated nitrogen input (much of it from direct atmospheric deposition), the lake is phosphorus-limited.
The Lake Tahoe restoration act was created by advocates of the lake it focused on improving the water of the lake and the surrounding environment (ENS, 2010). The legislation that these advocates are working on renewing is well aware of the lake’s problems and is targeting the encroaching species such as the smallmouth bass who targets the other fish, also minimizing and removing pollution from the water and trying to prevent wildfires as they have a duplicitous effect on the ecosystem at large.
These people have assembled a broad table of expert environmental scientists who can direct the funds to the most effective methods of better managing the complex ecosystem that Lake Tahoe is. For example, Asian clams are an extremely invasive predator that has invaded the lake, feeding on native species. Scientists have decided that they can resolve this issue by installing a very simple black tarp barrier at the bottom of the lake, researchers have been studying smaller plots and larger plots in the southeastern part of the lake to make sure what they are trying to accomplish will ultimately succeed, the scientists are still testing this strategy to more effectively kill the clams which prey on the native species. The researchers are still exploring how they can successfully kill the clams while they are restoring the biodiversity in those areas. One of the scientists from the University of Nevada who resides on the panel of experts have found that they can suffocate the clams within four weeks and thus entirely remove them from particular areas of the lake (ENS, 2010).
So much depends on managing this intricate ecosystem effectively, not just because it’s a national treasure but because so much of the local economy depends on a health lake ecosystem.

References
ENS. (2010, August 17). Lake Tahoe Summit Gets It: Healthy Ecosystem Equals Healthy
Economy. Retrieved June 5, 2012, from Ens-newswire.com: http://www.ens- newswire.com/ens/aug2010/2010-08-17-091.html
Tahoecam.com. (n.d.). Ecosystem Brief. Retrieved June 5, 2012, from Tahoecam.com: http://www.tahoecam.com/tahoeinfo/environment/four.htm