Stranded

An Eared Grebe swims in a pool created by the receding water of Great Salt Lake trapped in the contours of the exposed microbialite reef on the lakebed.

Perhaps nobody stands to lose more from the collapse of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem than this bird, the Eared Grebe.

As many as 3-4 million eared Grebes (estimated 70-90% of the world’s population) stop at Great Salt Lake to feed on brine shrimp on their way south for winter. Here they lose their flight muscles for several months and gorge on brine shrimp until they can gain enough fat reserves to complete their migration.

Being almost incapable of walking on land, they are essentially stranded in the lake for months. This makes Eared Grebes deeply dependent on the health of brine shrimp populations in the lake, because the birds simply can’t fly or walk elsewhere to find food. It also makes Eared Grebes deeply vulnerable at this moment in time, because salt concentration in the lake has soared well above optimal for brine shrimp health and reproduction, and there is no sign of it stopping. This fall, there are reports of emaciated Eared Grebes being found at Great Salt Lake, just as they should be doubling their body weight in preparation for migration. As brine shrimp in Great Salt Lake go, so go the Eared Grebes. On the current trajectory, we can expect populations of both to crash in the coming season.

There is one solution that would save both Eared Grebes and brine shrimp populations - more water in Great Salt Lake.