Beautiful but bizarre: The extreme ecosystem behind Australia’s pink lakes

Australia is home to a number of pink lakes, known for their vibrant hues and extreme salinity. These lakes are particularly concentrated in Western Australia and they have been around for a long time.

These colorful bodies of water owe their unusual appearance to the presence of specialized microbes that produce beta-carotene. It’s the same pigment responsible for the orange tint in carrots, the pink feathers of flamingos and the reddish shells of crayfish.

National Geographic reports that most are the ancient remnants of rivers that once flowed across the region over 15 million years ago. Over time, as those rivers dried up, they left behind isolated pools of water. With limited inflow and high evaporation rates, the salinity in these basins has increased and may be ten times saltier than the ocean.

These rare conditions create a perfect environment for Dunaliella salina, a type of algae, and Salinibacter ruber, a red-hued bacterium. When exposed to intense sunlight, both organisms ramp up production of beta-carotene. This pigment acts as a natural defense, shielding them from damaging UV rays while also capturing solar energy to support growth and reproduction.

The intensity of the pink color in the lakes varies with the concentration of salt and microbes. It can be anything from pale pink to a deep magenta. Lake Hillier, one of the most famous of these sites, has actually started to lose its bright shade of pink after massive offshore rainfall in 2022 diluted the levels of salt and changed its composition.

These other-worldly pink lakes may seem incredible serene and devoid of life but that could not be further from the truth. These lakes are actually thriving ecosystems that have adapted over millennia to extreme conditions. It offers a look at how life can flourish in any sort of environment.

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