Midges: Barbara Hayford Interview (2)

Lake Tahoe’s nutrient composition seems to be changing. Invasive species such as weeds and clams and nutrients added to the lake such as nitrogen and phosphorus can change the floor of the lake which in turn affects the animals that can live there. Before they become flies that occupy beaches on a lakeshore, midges live on the lake floor and look like small worms. Different midge species can survive in different nutrient conditions on a lake floor. The species of midges able to survive on the floor of Lake Tahoe are changing. Listen to the interview with midge expert Barbara Hayford for insight into this observed change and what it may indicate about the state of the lake.