Case Study

Gippsland Lakes Ecosystem:

(a)In the 1890's lake Victoria was opened up into the sea, people also removed a lot of sand so that the lake could be deeper allowing more water collect. A man called Thompson Dam also built on the upper reaches of the lake reducing the amount of water getting through. As a result of this the only new water that comes through now days is salty sea water from the ocean that creates higher salinity levels.

(b)The temperature of the lake increasing does not have a known cause as yet however it could be as a result of global warming. What we do know is that higher temperatures can cause fish do die as they cannot cope with heat.

(c)The loss of water entering the lake is most likely a result of lack of rain and hot, dry weather. If there is no rain there is only a certain amount of water that is able to run into the lake and while the sun keeps evaporating water gradually, it some times does not give it back for a while.

(d)Hotter water is a better breeding ground for algal blooms however it is a worse breeding ground for fish. Algal Blooms are not good for fish and can invade the lakes habbitats.

(e)Some of the lakes have silted up because people have removed natural plants from the banks of the lake. These plants were keeping the soil on the banks however now that they are gone the soil easily runs into the lake creating a shallower catchment.

By CoCo!:)