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| This web page class project was
created by students enrolled in General Ecology at Westminster College
in Salt Lake City during Fall Semester 1999. The project was under
the supervision of Dr. A. T. Harrison, Biology Department. E-mail
Address: tharrison@westminstercollege.edu; Address: 1840 S. 1300
E. Salt Lake City, Utah 84105. Telephone: 801-488-4232 (Office);
801-255-3167 (Home)
The information here expands a similar 1998
class project about the Great Salt Lake itself:
To view a slideshow of the typical shoreline plants found at Blackrock Beach of Great Salt Lake click here: Black Rock Beach |
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Jiselle Jones : Pickleweed Paige Walker: Iodinebush Shazia A. Arshad: Saltgrass Carrie D. Marshall: Insects Marci A. Vogel: Voles Jaimie M. Van Norman: Badger Egan A. Rowe: Snowy Plover Millicent T. Solano: Northern Harrier Sunnie E. Holland: Savanna Sparrow Shelley J. Brown: American Avocet Tyler Logan: Great Salt Lake Hydrological Model A. T. Harrison: Greasewood Shazia A. Arshad: Halophyte Belt Transect These organisms were chosen to represent the major players in the food web of the Great Salt Lake Playa ecosystem. The objective of this class project was to illustrate the interesting ecological interrelationships of organisms along the shoreline of Great Salt Lake. Hopefully, this project will provide a better understanding and greater appreciation to students, residents and visitors to Great Salt Lake, one of the most interesting ecosystems in the world. By clicking on the above organisms you can learn more about each one and it's role in the Great Salt Lake Playa Ecosystem. By continuing down this introductory
page, you will get an overview of the ecology of the Great Salt Lake Playa
system.
The following food web diagram illustrates
some of the feeding relationships of the featured organisms. The
arrows represent energy and mineral movement between the Great Salt Lake
Playa species. Squares represent the plants or primary producers,
circles are the herbivores or primary consumers, and triangles are the
omnivores and secondary consumers. Unconfirmed or unknown feeding
relationships are indicated by question marks.
and to see some of the other organisms which live in the Great Salt Lake ecosystem.
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| The above illustration originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune, October 26, 1998. It shows the most common birds and plants of the Great Salt Lake Playa and gives typical soil salinity levels along the playa edge. |
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| The large map above is from Great Salt Lake : a Scientific, Historical and Economic Overview , Editor, J. Wallace Gwynn, June 1980, Utah Dept. of Natural Resources Bulletin 116. It shows the major vegetation types surrounding Great Salt Lake. The area designated as "Salt flat" on the map (medium shading) often contains pickleweed, iodine bush, and saltgrass around the margins of the salt flats. The Upland vegetation type near the shoreline of Great Salt Lake (lightest shading) often contains greasewood and salt grass as well as other salt tolerant species. |
| The Great Salt Lake Draft Comprehensive Management Plan document was published on November 3, 1999. It was prepared by the Great Salt Lake Planning Team of the Utah Department of Natural Resources as a future planning document and copies are available from that agency in Salt Lake City. It contains important, up to date, background information on Great Salt Lake hydrology, chemistry, water quality, air quality, biology, ecosystem function, minerals, recreation, commercial and Industrial uses, management alternatives, etc. |
RETURN
TO TOP OF PAGE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE ORGANISMS WHICH
LIVE HERE
