Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons^™

Summer Habitat Use Of Littoral-Zone Fishes In Lake Tahoe And The Effects Of Shoreline Structures, D. Beauchamp, E. Byron, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

We used scuba observations to determine summer habitat use and the effects of piers on the littoral-zone fish community in Lake Tahoe, California–Nevada. Habitat complexity declined with depth. Over 50% of the littoral zone less than 2 m deep was composed of complex boulder substrates, but this substrate represented less than 10% of the habitat between 10 and 18 m deep. A severe drought lowered the surface elevation of the lake 2 m and reduced the wetted complex rocky habitat by 20% between the 0- and l0-m isobaths (referenced to the mean lake level of 1,899 m above sea level). …