Simcoe County Bird and Nature Board. POSTS MUST INCLUDE FULL NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS OR THEY WILL BE DELETED FROM THE BOARD. Banners at top of page cannot be blocked but are not part of the page. BOB BOWLES
Re(1): Dead Fish at Tiny Marsh
Posted on March 24, 2021 at 01:46:54 PM by Bob Bowles

Here is one of the photos that Mariane Cancilla captured of the dead fish at Tiny Marsh that died during the winter of 2020-2021.
Dead Fish Winter Kill Tiny Marsh by Mariane Cancilla by Bob Bowles - The Dragonhunter, on Flickr

Now that I have your photos, I can see that this is a very different situation that I first assumed since these are dead fish in the water and not predated on. What happens in shallow wetlands like Tiny Marsh is that some shallow areas freeze right to the bottom since the water is not deep enough for the invasion of the colder water sinking to the bottom and then becoming ice covered, creating an insulated body of water of 4 degree Celsius during the winter. These shallow pools freeze to the bottom becoming solid ice with no oxygen and too cold for life to survive the winter. I often observe dead turtles in the spring at Tiny Marsh that have buried themselves in the mud at the bottom of these shallow pools only to freeze during the winter with no water and oxygen to make it through to spring. Most fish and turtles winter in deeper pools but this often happens at Tiny Marsh when some fish and turtles experience winter kill in shallow pools. However, it is possible that these fish died last fall from botulism but there are more than one species involved and fish dying in the fall from botulism, usually are bloated and would not stay this intact during the winter. The bodies of these fish are in good shape, not bloated and appear fresh and well preserved.

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