How Can We Help?

In order to improve (or maintain positive) human impacts on this particular ecosystem we can support the causes of such organizations as Ramsar. Ramsar’s mission is "the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world". As they profess in their main philosophy, the “wise use” of the benefits provided by such ecosystems as that of Lake Pátzcuaro is our best hope of protecting such areas.

Future Prospects?

My understanding from my research on the current human impacts leads me to believe that the protection of Lake Pátzcuaro is in good condition. Recent studies show that the trophic conditions are best during the rainy season (May to October) and locals seem to be aware of the lake’s watershed value, thus prompting them to maintain the good quality of the water. In 2005, Lake Pátzcuaro was designated a Ramsar site for World Wetlands Day. This kind of conscientious behavior by the Mexican government is a positive indication for the preservation of this ecosystem.

Current Human Impacts

Currently, the human impacts on the ecosystem are less destructive than they have been in the past. Modernization and an increased awareness for the environment of the region create more sustainable interactions with the ecosystem. This is critical because serious changes in the state of the ecosystem could create severe consequences for the lake’s numerous species of endemic animals in addition to a few endangered species (like the Lake Pátzcuaro salamander) that take residence there.

Historical State of This Ecosystem

Lake Pátzcuaro is located in the south-western Mexican state of Michoacán on sloping, volcanic terrain. The lake itself has experienced brief but extreme fluctuations in water level over the course of history, especially in the late Pleistocene-Holocene period. Lake Pátzcuaro has been dubbed an “amplifier” lake, which insinuates that the shifts in water level allowed it to become an evidence rich environment for past climate change in the area. While exact lake level at the time of the Spanish Conquest (ca. 1521) is debated, the general consensus amongst scholars is that water elevation then was definitely higher than the modern level. Data taken into account previously suggested that subsequent Europeanized development (including structures, agriculture, grazing animals, etc) led to erosion and environmentally detrimental occurrences. However, more recent analysis leads many scientists to believe that there was actually a period of landscape recovery following conquest due to the massive deaths of Indigenous peoples and, therefore, a great reduction in land use across Mexico. Prior to the Conquest, the area surrounding the Lake Pátzcuaro basin was central to the Tarascan Empire. A significant decline in human population of the land followed the Spaniard's arrival with superior weaponry and monumentally fatal diseases.