Pacific Southwest Research Station

Lake Quality

To "Keep Tahoe Blue" is a primary goal in the Tahoe basin. A specific objective is to reverse the long-term decline in open-water clarity. Lake quality is also threatened by the spread of attached algae (periphyton) and non-native organisms including Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum), curlyleaf pondweed (Potamogeton crispus), Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea), and numerous warmwater fishes.

Research Projects

Research projects are measuring conditions and trends across the lake and understanding processes that influence near-shore water quality and its linkage to open-lake water quality. Research is also examining the effects of invasive plants and fishes, how to hinder or reverse their spread, and how to prevent introduction of new invaders.

• Understanding the decline of deepwater sensitive species in Lake Tahoe: What is responsible, eutrophication or species invasions?
• Emerald Bay control and management: stressors and mechanisms controlling Asian clam populations in Emerald Bay
• Development of an Online Watershed Interface to predict the effects of forest and fire management on sediment and phosphorus loads in surface runoff in the Lake Tahoe Basin
• Evaluating field and laboratory data for developing surrogate indicators to monitor fine sediment in the Tahoe Basin
• Remote sensing of Lake Tahoe's nearshore environment
• Laboratory experiments on fine particle capture by submerged vegetation in stream environment zones (SEZs): the effects of vegetation density, biofilm development and particle composition
• Science to assist policy decisions regarding the prevention of invasive species: testing the survival and growth of quagga mussel in Lake Tahoe
• The ecology of curly leaf pondweed (Potamogeton crispus) and the potential for control using bottom barriers in Lake Tahoe
• Natural and human limitations to Asian clam distribution and recolonization-factors that impact the management and control in Lake Tahoe
• Potential for Pathogen Growth, Fecal Indicator Growth and Phosphorus Release under Clam Removal Barriers in the Lake Tahoe Basin
• Development of a risk model to determine the expansion and potential environmental impacts of Asian clams in Lake Tahoe
• Effects of pile burning in the Tahoe basin on soil and water quality
• NICHES: Nearshore Indicators for Clarity, Habitat, and Ecological Sustainability
• Monitoring past, present, and future water quality using remote sensing (RS)
• Predicting and managing changes in near-shore water quality