Question by Gary Parrish, Layton, Utah
Great Salt Lake provides a home for a wide range of creatures, like the migrating American white pelicans and brine shrimp. These creatures rely on the lake in different ways. And they will be impacted differently if Great Salt Lake’s shoreline continues to decrease.
Bonnie Baxter, Director of the Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster College and Great Salt Lake Collaborative member, said saline imbalances caused by decreases in water levels are the biggest threat these species face.
“Each species has its own restrictive salinity,” she said, “it can’t live higher than a certain percentage of salt in the water… We have to be really careful about that.”
Great Salt Lake Collaborative partner KSL NewsRadio reported that as the lake shrinks, birds are “not only having a hard time finding plants or fishing out brine shrimp, but they’re also competing for space, fighting against predators and having to deal with invasive species.”
Higher levels of salt could change the diet of shorebirds and brine shrimp. Baxter said this is because higher saline levels will cause less diversity and availability in the invertebrates and algae they eat.
Shorebirds in the freshwater wetlands surrounding the lake could also be impacted if the lake continues shrinking.
“We’re worried about their habitat becoming more saline or losing water, drying up,” Baxter said.
Baxter encouraged people who wish to help the wildlife at Great Salt Lake to connect with and advocate for the lake.
“Go to the lake and tell your lake story to your representative. Tell them to keep water in the lake,” Baxter said.
—Reported and written by McCaulee Blackburn
