As the climate warms and nutrient inputs shift, algal communities in cool, clear mountain lakes like Lake Tahoe will likely experience seasonal changes, according to a study from the University of California, Davis.

Periphyton, that fuzzy layer of attached algae covering the rocks as you step into the water, is a healthy and critical part of a lake’s food web. Periphyton blooms, however, signal changes that can degrade both water quality and a shoreline’s natural beauty.

Lake Tahoe’s long-term clarity record is not trending worse, nor is it improving, according to the 2024 annual clarity report from the University of California, Davis’ Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC).

Annual report looks at Tahoe’s trends and challenges

The UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center has released its annual Tahoe: State of the Lake Report, assessing a year marked by the hottest temperatures on record followed by a winter of unprecedented levels of rain and snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains, where Lake Tahoe resides.

Benjamin Houlton has been named director of the John Muir Institute of the Environment.

The UC Davis Office of Research has named Benjamin Houlton as the new director of the John Muir Institute of the Environment, known as JMIE.  Houlton takes over from Mark Schwartz, who has directed the program since 2009. Houlton, a professor in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, was named associate director of JMIE in January of this year.