Cover Page Copyright Page Contents Preface Acknowledgments Chapter 1. An Introduction to Lake Abert: A Great Basin Saline Lake Ecosystem Historical Background Surveyors and Mapmakers The Developers Efforts to Protect the Land Chapter 2. Geology: What the Rocks and Landscape Tell Us >Historical Background Lake Abert's Origin Steen's Basalt Sunstones Gravity Eventually Prevails: Landslides and Rock Falls Desert Varnish Desert Pavements, Patterned Ground, and Moving Rocks Chapter 3. Lake Abert Limnology: The Water Story South Central Oregon Lakes What Is a Salt Lake? Classifying Salt Lakes The Prevalence of Playas Lake Abert's Geochemistry Dangerous Dust Desiccation Polygons-Patterns in Mud Tufa-Rocks from Water The Great Basin's Paleolakes Paleolimnology-The Study of Ancient Lakes Paleolake Chewaucan More-Recent Geological History of the Great Basin Lakes Deeper Isn't Always Better Historical Lake Abert Hydrology Chewaucan River Flows Lake Abert Inflows The Ups and Downs of a Great Basin Playa Lake Chapter 4. Life in Extreme Water Life at the Extremes Microbial Mats-An Ecosystem in Miniature Algae-The Base of the Food Web Aquatic Invertebrates-Animals without Backbones Brine Shrimp Other Branchiopods-Water Fleas and Fairy and Tadpole Shrimp Alkali Flies Lake Abert's Other Aquatic Flies Lakeshore Beetles Mollusks Fish Wetland and Shore Plants Lichens-Slow Life on Hot Rocks Mosses and Ferns Upland Plants-Living with Water Scarcity Grasses Sagebrush-The Bush That Makes a Sea Three Yellow-Flowered Great Basin Shrubs Other Shrubs in an Arid Land Streamside Plants Abert Rim and Its Flora-The High Life Taking a Hike The Twenty-Five-Thousand-Acre Abert Rim Wilderness Study Area Flowering Plants Growing at the North End of the Lake Invasive Plants-Mediterranean Sage, Cheatgrass, and Crested Wheatgrass Terrestrial Invertebrates-Small and Often Overlooked Critters Frogs and Toads-Desert Amphibians Lizards Snakes Mammals Pronghorn-Life in High Gear Bighorn Sheep-High Climbers Coyote-The Desert's Dog Thinking Like a Mountain-Predator Management in the Age of Climate Change Chapter 6. Birds: Feathered Abundance in a Harsh Landscape Upland Birds Waterbirds and Their Natural History Waterbirds as a Gauge of Ecosystem Health at Lake Abert Waterbird Populations from 2011 to 2022 Comparing Waterbird Populations at Lake Abert with Those at Other Salt Lakes Importance of Lake Abert for Waterbird Conservation Birding at Lake Abert Chapter 7. The Lakeshore People: The Ancient Chewaucanians Living with Giants Evidence of Native American Settlements at Lake Abert The Status of Salt Lakes Worldwide Future Effects of Climate Change Possible Effects of Climate Change on Waterbirds Managing These Valuable Ecosystems How Can We Save the Lake Abert Ecosystem? References Index About the Author.