Lakes are interconnected with other water resources. Lakes receive much of their water from streams and ground water. Wetlands adjacent to the lakes, or connected to lakes by streams, often serve as spawning grounds for fish and habitat for diverse species of plants and animals. Protection of all of these natural resources as a whole is vital to the protection of lakes. A complex interdependence has evolved among the organisms in a lake community. If one part of the ecosystem is disturbed, it affects other parts. A road, a housing development, a drainage project, a forest fire, acid rain, or other such changes in the watershed can alter the delicate balance of the lake ecosystem.