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Great Salt Lake Ecosystem

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Great Salt Lake Ecosystem

The Great Salt Lake is the remnant of Lake Bonneville that covered much of Western Utah and parts of Nevada and Idaho during the Pleistocene Era. It is a terminal lake, three and a half to eight times saltier than the oceans, which supports brine shrimp and flies along with algae and bacteria that have adapted specially to this extreme environment. It has three contributing rivers that flow into it, the Bear, Provo/Jordan, and the Weber. There are no fish that can survive in the lake, but it has become a resting ground for some two to five million migratory birds making it an important bird refuge (United States Geological Survey, 2013). Although the saltiness and general lack of organisms would make the Lake to appear as simple it is a fragile, complex ecosystem.
Structural and Functional Dynamics of Great Salt Lake
The structure of the Great Salt Lake lends to very dramatic changes in the size and volume of the lake with even small changes in water amounts. The Lake only averages 14-16 feet in depth with the deepest part around 34 feet, and an elevation of 4200 feet above sea level. At its lowest point of 4191.35 in 1963, or just eight feet lower than its historic average, the Lake saw a decrease of surface area from 1700 square miles to 950 square miles (United States Geological Survey, 2013). With just an increase of 11.6 feet of elevation the surface area jumped to more than 3300 square miles. The Lake serves the millions of migratory birds with its numerous wetlands that function as a resting spot to eat the brine flies.
Human Effects of Cycles
Because Great Salt Lake has recently become an economic interest to companies it is only recently that attention has been paid to the cycles that the Lake has and data is only now being collected. Human effects have been seen elsewhere as in the salinity of the Lake. In 1959 a causeway for the railroad was constructed splitting the lake into two separate parts, the north arm (Gunnison Bay) and the south arm (Gilbert Bay). Gilbert Bay receives nearly all of the inflow of the rivers whereas Gunnison Bay receives little freshwater (United States Geological Survey, 2013). Because of the separation and the difference of inflow the salinity of Gunnison Bay at 28% is much higher than Gilbert Bays 11%. Not only has this human causeway made the Lake essentially two lakes of differing salinity it has also possibly caused changes in the yields of brine shrimp. A breach was constructed to try and even out the salinity of the two arms along with the brine of Great Salt Lake and has shown little leveling off (Utah Department of Natural Resources, 2011). The economics of Great Salt Lake has had an effect on it as companies have come in to collect minerals such as sodium chloride, potassium sulfate (fertilizer), and magnesium chloride among others. In retrieving these minerals shallow evaporation ponds have been established that accelerate the evaporation of the water and decrease the size of the Lake.
Knowledge in Managing and Restoring Great Salt Lake
Although there is little scientific data on the open water of Great Salt Lake, management plans have been implemented on preserving the wetlands and lake. As of 2000 plans were made to deal with the fluctuating lake levels, promoting water quality, helping brine shrimp numbers and mineral development for economic reasons, and publish scientific information concerning the Lake along with many other responsibilities. As this plan is over a decade old new management plans are currently in the works to update points of emphasis. A link to the full 2000 management plan is found at http://www.ffsl.utah.gov/sovlands/greatsaltlake/2010Plan/existingplans/GSL-CMP-DecisionDocument-May2000.pdf
Species Interactions for Management and Restoration
The Great Salt Lake is somewhat lacking in natural species that exist within it, but the species that do exist play a role in the management and restoration of the Lake. The following image shows the interactions of the benthic habitat with the planktonic habitat:
Image of Planktonic and Benthic Habitat Interactions

The brine shrimp are one of the most important of the species in the management of the ecosystem as they can play a part not only in the food web but also economically. The management of the brine shrimp populations has been at the front of the management plans presented in previous years.
Conclusion
The Great Salt Lake has always been an important sanctuary for the millions of birds that rest and feed on its wetlands and waters. The limited species that exist in the Lake play an important economic and ecological role that is constantly fluctuating. The Great Salt Lake continues to be a fragile ecosystem, with its limited inflow of water and shallow depths, but with the help of management and restoring efforts now and in the future it hopefully will continue to give the benefits to fowl and humans for years to come.

References
United States Geological Survey. (2013). Image of Planktonic and Benthic Habitat Interactions, Retrieved May 13, 2013, from: http://ut.water.usgs.gov/greatsaltlake/plankton/ United States Geological Survey. (2013). Great Salt Lake—Lake Elevations and Elevation Changes. Retrieved from http://ut.water.usgs.gov/greatsaltlake/elevations/ United States Geological Survey. (2013). Great Salt Lake—Salinity and Water Quality. Retrieved from http://ut.water.usgs.gov/greatsaltlake/salinity/
United States Geological Survey. (2013). Great Salt Lake, Utah. Retrieved from http://ut.water.usgs.gov/greatsaltlake/ Utah Department of Natural Resources. (2011). A Lake Divided - A History of the Southern Pacific Railroad Causeway and Its Effect on Great Salt Lake, Utah. Retrieved from http://geology.utah.gov/utahgeo/gsl/lakedivided3.htm

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