Interesting observation. I hope it's not chemical runoff or pH. I don't know the area, but a few notions cross my mind FWIW.

I'd echo previous questions about invertibrates -- insects, snails, water bugs of any kind. These, and algae/water plants, are the foundation of the food chain.

Sometimes, very deep lakes fed by very cold streams will have very short "growing" seasons, during which the food chain will bloom and disappear in a few warm weeks in later summer.

Development and excessive traffic can sometimes isolate lakes from ungulate/predator corridors.

Last, did you see evidence of rodents at all? Sometimes the land-based food chain depends on these little critters. I've often suspected that a dozen mouse traps and a jar of peanut butter would net more calories per day, consistently, than a firearm.

Hi Hacksaw,

You could be right. If there are no animals, there can only be a few reasons for that. The animals that were once there cannot find enough food to survive due to local ecological factors and have moved away or the animals reproductivity has been seriously effected which again would be due to environmental factors because of pollution due to human activity.

Since the water from the reservoir would be under constant testing (it will be used for human consumption) for chemical polution which would effect salinity, nitrate levels and PH levels etc this would be easily detected. I suspect that there would probably be a biological rather than chemical or radiological pollution influence factor. This would be a biological source of pollution that is not being currently tested for in the reservoir waters and one that affects reproduction in higher order mammals or entomological reproduction lower in the food chain that is causing higher order mammals to move away because of starvation.

Are there any pharmaceutical or agrochemical companies nearby who are envolved in dabbling with DNA sequences (genetic engineering)? I suspect there might be.

OK, I looked into things.

First of all, the park is known for its "exceptionally clear" water - it's popular with scuba divers. Additionally, the lake is stocked with "trophy fish" - but the waters where we were were very warm, so I would not expect trout - but I would expect bass and WAY more bluegill.

There HAVE been bears in the area, they asked that we stow food in secure containers and all that.

There were snails in the water, but they were all dead (shells only). They claim to allow waterfowl hunting from boats, but I saw nary a single duck or goose.

At the campsite, we did see a squirrel.

It was the lack of insects and tree frogs and crickets at night that was creepy - sure there were a few mosquitoes and some black flies and we did hear a few cicadas. But nothing at all like I expect. In the morning there were a few scattered birds, not much at all.

My point in all of this was the scenario of being there for X days, and expecting to collect food enough for the gang to get by. You see, when I was a young man, I used to go camping with a minimal supply of food, and we'd gather and catch for food. We'd supply about 1/2 of our needs this way, and it's just a routine that I've come to expect when camping. Really made me think.