The large beautiful lake had something for everyone

People came

from all over to

fish,

Canoe,

and to watch birds and sunset.

The lake was a home for many species of fish.

And provided the local Aboriginal communities with healthy fresh food.

The aboriginal

people also

worked as fishing guides.

One year, a man who had a summer cottage on the lake

decided that…..

…another sport fish would be a good addition to the

lake!!

Overtime….. things changed….

All this happened because of one man’s wish for

better sport fishing!!!

But….

Why?

Ok let me tell you exactly

what happened

after the man added a new sport fish…..

The new species of fish was a fighter. It was so mean that it went after the other fish in the lake, and killed many of them.

The best food fish were able to escape the hunter fish by diving too deep for the new fish to follow.

Still…. the hunter fish ate many other types of fish in the

lake.

Over time, however, the algae population grew in

the water.

The algae died from overpopulation and sank to the bottom of the lake and eventually destroyed the

deep water safety of the best food fish.

The hunter fish also ate the snail-eating fish.

Can you guess what happened next?

The snails overpopulated!

To make matters worse the snails carried parasites that

could give the people who ate them disease.

The food fish population decreased without enough fish to control the snail and

algae populations.

The aboriginal people, who ate the majority of the food fish, tried to adjust to the changes in their food supply. When they realized the new fish did not sun-dry well enough for storage they decided to roast the fish.

Roasting worked well, but roasting required fire, and the fire required wood from the trees that surrounded the village and lake.

In time, the forest became bare and damaged.

Birds left.

The fish supply dwindled and people stopped visiting the lake to fish,

canoe, and watch birds and sunset.

The aboriginal people could no longer make a living as

fishing guides. They no longer had a healthy

abundant food source.

WOW! All this happened because of one man’s wish

for better sport fishing!!!

ReferenceStory was adapted from: Hands-on Science, Gr. 7

Government of Canada. Hands-On Science, Grade 7. No sporting chance. Portage and Main Press, 2004

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