A researcher studying the ecology of Birk Lake, Michigan has been monitoring population changes of several species in the lake for at least 10 years. In her first field season, the researcher measured the community composition of the lake, and found that the main predator in the lake was theLarge Mouth Bass. This species was documented to feed on at least 3 species of fish that feed on zooplankton. The zooplankton of the lake feed exclusively on primary producers, also known as phytoplankton (=mainly green algae). For several years the system was stable as there were no major population changes in any of the species. However, last spring the population counts for the Large Mouth Bass were dramatically low. In addition to this finding by the researcher, she also documented that the amount of fish captured by fishermen increased dramatically and that there were huge increases in the phytoplankton population. She tried to explain to the city officials that this dramatic decrease may have serious consequences on the ecology of the lake, but the officials are not getting it. So she has set up a meeting with the city officials again and wants to explain in simpler language the connection between the low population of Large Mouth Bass and the population explosion of phytoplankton.

In a short paragraph explain what kind of arguments the researcher could use to address the following (5-7 sentences)

How does the increased fishing pressure on the bass population affect the rate of primary production in the lake?

What is the effect of the increase in fishing pressure on the clarity of the water in this lake? How could this affect the summer revenue of the lake?