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Show Biology While the term " biology" encompasses all living things, the " Biology" section of the GSL plan focuses on the wildlife species for which DWR is responsible, and on the physical and biological habitats which support those resources. The volume of biological information the planning team identified in its resource inventory is enormous. The team has endeavored to identify and synthesize here that information which is relevant to the management responsibilities of DNR. While a great deal is known about many of the species present in the GSL ecosystem, information about many species is not well known, and biological interrelationships and the effects of environmental stressors are not understood in many instances. The lack of information on natural systems was a primary reason for DWR forming the Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Project ( GSLEP). Based on the information received during internal and external scoping, the planning team identified four major areas of management interest and. concern: • Existing DWR management programs need to be considered. • Changes in lake brine salinities, with corresponding impacts to aquatic and avian populations and ecological interactions on GSL are significant concerns. • Potential for changes in lake water quality and impacts to aquatic and avian wildlife are concerns. • WMAs within the 39 townships identified by the Utah Code for that purpose have indefinite boundaries. Introduction GSL and its environs support a number of diverse plant and animal species in a unique mosaic of upland, wetland, mudflat, river delta, brackish and freshwater marshes, ephemeral ponds and other habitat types. There are 250 species of birds which frequent the GSL ecosystems, of which 74 species are water birds and 35 species are shorebirds. GSL environs host 23 species or subspecies offish which are found in impounded freshwater inflow areas, eight species of amphibians and 64 species or subspecies of mammals. From the federal listing, one endangered species ( Peregrine falcon), one threatened species ( Bald eagle) and 15 sensitive species ( which includes the American pelican and the Long- billed curlew) occur on and around GSL. At least six uniquely productive wetland and water environments exist in the GSL ecosystems. These systems provide abundant and diverse habitat for the numerous wildlife species that use the lake system. These are: • Open- water environments of varying salinities • Island and upland habitats associated with the saline system • Freshwater lacustrine wetlands associated with river and stream deltas 65 |