Mathematical Biology Seminar Gary Belovsky, University of Notre Dame, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 2:00pm in LCB 323 The Great Salt Lake Puzzle: integrating ecology, policy and management Abstract: In 1994, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) needed to develop management policies for brine shrimp harvesting on Great Salt Lake, which had dramatically increased leading to concern for waterbird feeding. At this time, it was realized how little detailed ecological information was available on which to base decisions. This led to support of long-term ecological studies and creation of the Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Program (GSLEP) in 1996 with a technical advisory group composed of government, industry, conservation and scientific representatives. The focus was to first develop a monitoring program for the lake that documents change over time, second to develop a sustainable brine shrimp harvest management plan, and finally to develop an understanding of the lake’s ecology to address a wider range of future environmental threats to the lake. Having been involved with this process since 1994, I will present an overview of the ecological studies conducted to date that addressed GSLEP goals. These studies are culminating in a computer model based on experimental data, which are independent of lake observations, so the model can be verified/validated with previous lake monitoring observations and thereby, used with confidence to forecast potential future changes to the lake ecosystem.