Lake Fauna

The taxonomic information provided in the following table (also available as a PDF) is based on surveys of native aquatic fauna conducted at more than 7000 lakes and ponds in Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks, and the John Muir Wilderness. All of these water bodies were surveyed for amphibians and reptiles and a subset of more than 600 were sampled for benthic macroinvertebrates and zooplankton. Sampled water bodies ranged in elevation from 1500 m to 3700 m, and from small, shallow ponds to large, deep lakes. As such, these sites represent virtually the full range of habitat conditions characteristic of natural lakes in the Sierra Nevada. Most species-level identifications were confirmed by expert taxonomists familiar with the group, and species names were checked for validity in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System. A reference collection of these taxa is housed at the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory.

At present, information in this table is far from complete and represents only a starting point for future work. Our ongoing taxonomic research will likely fill in many of the existing information gaps in coming months and years. I welcome input from people with expertise in the identification of aquatic fauna of Sierran lakes.