Mutualism In The Lake Tahoe Basin

Lake Tahoe is one of America’s deepest, freshwater lakes. The iconic vacation spot keeps locals and tourists occupied with ski resorts and casinos. Although, there is more to the area than its breathtaking views. The Lake Tahoe Basin is home to many species that contribute to its ecology. Species interaction with biological communities and environment affect the ecosystem greatly because of species dependency of the environment and its resources. This makes it especially difficult with the Lake Tahoe Basin in crisis. The ecosystem faces low water levels, and constant threats of forest fires. The Lake Tahoe Basin is a national treasure that is cherished by many Americans, as well as supplies natural resources for many species, and should be
However, this does not have a significant effect on the basin. Mutualism is the interspecific interaction that benefits both species. Lichens are an example of mutualism in the Lake Tahoe Basin because Lichens are communities of algae and fungi. The algae makes oxygen for the fungi while the fungi produces food for the algae, interacting as a team to benefit both species. In commensalism, only one species is benefited during the interaction while the organism is neither harmed or benefited. Bacteria uses plankton to make their biomass, and this is an example of commensalism (Thompson,
The droughts have caused the lake to decrease below its natural rim (DeLong & Gazette, 2014). To mitigate the harms to the drought in the ecosystem, the townspeople have taken caution in their water uses. The 93,000 locals of Lake Tahoe made it a goal to decrease water usage by 10% in 2014. The residents achieved this goal and saved about 1,150 acre-feet of water. There are few fishes in the Lake Tahoe Basin, but the aquatic animals are impacted the most in the basin’s drought. The dominant fish of the basin is the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, also known as the Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi. The fish is about 50 inches long, and weighs around 40 pounds. This large fish was depended on by many residents for survival, and is now one of the endangered species of the Lake Tahoe Basin. Other causes of threats to the species’s existence are the dams that destroyed their habitat, and the development of urbanization, which increased their chances of being the prey, rather than their original role as the predator (“Keep Lake Tahoe Blue”