Re: NANFA-L-- How Does Everyone Feel About.....

dlmcneely-in-lunet.edu
Thu, 24 Mar 2005 10:23:10 -0600

There is no record of what the limnology of Crater Lake was before the
introduction of fish. Fish were already there when the first
limnological surveys were done from wooden boats hauled several hundred
feet by hand down into the caldera from the rim. So far as vertebrates
are concerned, there are data, and the current amphibs and so on were
probably there, as with other high altitude Cascade Mountains lakes.
The fish were introduced to induce greater tourism in the 19th century,
and were carried to the lake in water cans by mule. A tiny fraction of
people who visit Crater Lake today fish. A very large steelhead from
Crater Lake would be 8 or 9 inches long. The other species there is
kokonee, a landlocked salmon that contaminated stock-in-introduction.
This planktivore that grows in Crater Lake to about 6 inches is a real
sportsman's trophy ;-). If data from other lakes can be generalized
to Crater Lake, fish introductions resulted in largescale change in the
zooplankton community, selecting for small bodied species, and
reduction in body size of remaining species.

All these high mountain lakes in the Cascades are oligotrophic in the
extreme. Water clarity in Crater Lake is tremendous -- secchi disk
readings the highest in the world -- approaching 100 m if I remember
correctly. Information about the lake can be found on the National
Park Service web site.

Dave

David L. McNeely, Ph.D., Professor of Biology
Langston University; P.O. Box 1500
Langston, OK 73050; email: dlmcneely-in-lunet.edu
telephone: (405) 466-6025; fax: 405) 466-3307
home page http://www.lunet.edu/mcneely/index.htm

"Where are we going?" "I don't know, are we there yet?"

----- Original Message -----
From: Moontanman-in-aol.com
Date: Wednesday, March 23, 2005 4:18 pm
Subject: Re: NANFA-L-- How Does Everyone Feel About.....

> Is there any record of what lived in Crater Lake before the
> introduction of
> fish?
>
> Michael Hissom (AKA Moon)
> Lower Cape Fear River, Waccamaw Lake and river system, and coastal
> salt water
> and brackish water estuaries in the same location. (South Eastern
> North
> Carolina)
> I have access to the only natural Ocean Shore Rock out cropping in
> Coastal NC
>
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