Winterkill rumours

[bessiedog]

Just heard Beauvais may have winterkilled, same with Summit. Anyone hear anything??

[Pudelpointer]

I have not heard anything but will ask around. I would be surprized if either lake did, but nothing is impossible.

[vinny]

Summit was still frozen solid on Sunday afternoon.

[Guitarplayingfish]

beaveauis is frozen, and i was catching a ton of rainbow through the ice this year. I highly doubt it.

[Coulee]

What causes winter kill is snow cover because it insulates the ice from thawing. With the high amount of snow on the prairies and mountains, I would think that any body of water that does not have a flow through, ie a beaver damn, is at a high risk of winter kill this year.

[Penner]

Winter kill occurs in lakes and ponds that are frozen over and where the exchange of gases between the water below the ice and the air above is not sufficient to maintain oxygen levels that support fish. During the winter, oxygen normally enters the water of a frozen lake through inlet water streams, cracks in the ice and slow diffusion through the ice. A thick snow cover on a lake can reduce the amount of oxygen passing through the ice.

In shallow lakes where the water volume is not sufficient, winter kill will occur. Depending on the length of the winter, the amount of snow cover, the amount of fresh water entering the lake and the number of fish and other life in the lake, winter kill may only occur every few years. It may only occur in certain shallow areas of the lake where fish are unable to escape to deeper and more oxygen-rich water. If lakes are deep enough, they may contain a sufficient volume of water to maintain oxygen above lethal levels.

Winter kills are normal occurrences in some Alberta lakes. Winter kill especially occurs in many of our regularly trout-stocked water bodies.

[livinthedream]

As Penner points out, deep snow and ice prohibits the exchange of gases but deep snow and ice also reduces the amount of sunlight able to reach aquatic plants and the rate of photosynthesis is restricted. Plants use sunlight and carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and oxygen is generated in the process. In shallow lakes with heavy weed growth winter kill can occur regularly.

[livinthedream]

Should have added that during any typical winter, aquatic plants naturally die off and begin to decompose. Decomposition will use up valuable oxygen in the water. Add in heavy snow cover and restricted photosynthesis and there will be above normal aquatic plant die-off.