Nature Done Wright

Incorporating the Celery Farm and Screech Owl Companion blogs

March 15, 2011

Mystery Solved, Perhaps

I asked a naturalist colleague for his thoughts on the dead fish along the southern edge of Lake Appert.

He had two theories:

1. The lake has been frozen for a very long time, and many fish may have died of natural causes. The ice melted just before the storm pushed their bodies to the south end of the lake.

2. A lot of nutrients (typically from lawn fertilizers) entered the lake, causing the dissolved oxygen levels to drop dangerously low, killing the fish, and the storm pushed their bodies to the south end of the lake.

He leans toward the first theory. Me, too.