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The Rozel Point Tar Seeps and Their Impact on the Local Biology at Great Salt Lake, Utah

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Great Salt Lake Biology

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Abstract

Great Salt Lake (GSL), Utah, is the largest lake in the Great Basin and one of the primary migratory stops for many species of birds in North America. Located at Rozel Point, on the north arm of the lake, are natural tar seeps that have formed on the former lake bed resulting from the migration of oil to the surface along fault lines. Once the petroleum reaches the surface of the ground, usually at low pressure, it then spreads out from the seep. The resulting tar seeps are numerous and vary in size. During warm weather, the surface of the Rozel Point tar is sufficiently sticky, and it can lead to entrapment of animals.

There are many factors that may influence the entrapment, including lake levels, the type of animal that becomes stuck and the presence of potential prey, the appearance of the tar seeps as they reflect light, the temperature at which the tar seeps become tacky, which is dependent on the season and time of day. Using direct observations, motion-activated cameras, temperature monitoring devices, and paleontological methods for identification, we have located and documented animal species present in the Rozel seeps. Our data suggest that the most common species stuck is the American White Pelican, but other birds, insects, and other animals may also be trapped. We have collected photographic evidence of scavenging species, such as coyotes and ravens, which scavenge on animals entrapped in the tar. In this chapter, we present a review of our data regarding animal entrapment at Rozel Point. Using this site at the GSL as a modern analogue, we compare our analysis to other significant petroleum-enriched sites.

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Acknowledgments

Our investigations on the tar seep at Rozel Point were done under the Right of Entry No. 410-00654, issued by the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands to Jaimi Butler of the Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster College. We thank Jack M. Broughton of the Department of Anthropology, University of Utah for the use of the collections in the zooarchaeology laboratory to facilitate our identifications of bones from the birds. Arie Leeflang in Archaeology Records at the Utah Division of State History kindly provided historic photos of oil drilling operations at Rozel Point. John Neill of the Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Program, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources gave us access to information on the pelicans with wing tags. Christian Hardwick and Kellen Hatch of the Utah Geological Survey did the drone mapping of the tar seeps. Ryan Davis and Terry Griswold provided help on the wasp identification. Matt Coombs with the Utah Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands helped us with permits and site access for our fieldwork. We thank Mary Sanchez and Cayla Martin for their help monitoring the Rozel tar seeps. Funding was provided by the Stephen G. and Susan E. Denkers Family Foundation, W.M. Keck Foundation, and the Lawrence T. and Janet T. Family Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Great Salt Lake Institute, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Kara L. Kornhauser & Jaimi K. Butler

  2. Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Office, Lakewood, CO, USA

    H. Gregory McDonald

  3. Department of Biology, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Rebecca S. Dennis

Authors
  1. Kara L. Kornhauser
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  2. H. Gregory McDonald
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  3. Rebecca S. Dennis
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  4. Jaimi K. Butler
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Correspondence to Jaimi K. Butler .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Great Salt Lake Institute, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Bonnie K. Baxter

  2. Great Salt Lake Institute, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Jaimi K. Butler

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Kornhauser, K.L., McDonald, H.G., Dennis, R.S., Butler, J.K. (2020). The Rozel Point Tar Seeps and Their Impact on the Local Biology at Great Salt Lake, Utah. In: Baxter, B., Butler, J. (eds) Great Salt Lake Biology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40352-2_15

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