So was this a good or bad winter for winterkill?

[Stick500]

Since we hardly had any snowfall this winter, does that mean less chance of big winterkills in metro-area lakes? Does brutally cold temps. and ice thickness have anything to do with winterkill as well, or is it all about the snow cover?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

[BobT]

I'm betting it is a good year. With lack of snow, light penetration should be better than typical which would keep plant photosynthesis active more helping maintain better oxygen levels.

[JBMasterAngler]

It's tough to say. A lot of lakes were well below normal water levels when they froze, that has to play a factor. Overall, I'd say there won't be much for winterkill though.

[BobT]

The flip side of less snow could be more ice which could be problematic in shallower bodies I suppose but so far I haven't seen it where I've been.

[UMC]

Everything I've ever read says ice thickness has little impact on winterkill. It makes sense, winterkill is primarily caused by low oxygen levels due to a lack of sunlight getting to the aquatic plants, inhibiting photosynthesis. Sunlight can penetrate ice pretty well - a foot or two of snow not so much.

[BobT]

Everything I've ever read says ice thickness has little impact on winterkill. It makes sense, winterkill is primarily caused by low oxygen levels due to a lack of sunlight getting to the aquatic plants, inhibiting photosynthesis. Sunlight can penetrate ice pretty well - a foot or two of snow not so much.

My thought was in shallow ponds and lakes where the ice thickness would be significant enough to reduce the habitable area of the water column to the point it can no longer sustain the life held within.

[delcecchi]

Sure, makes sense. But if water is 10 feet deep, ice only reduces water volume by maybe 25%.

I think the real problem might be when the plants die from no sun, they decay and use up oxygen.

[UMC]

If 3 or 4 feet of ice is reducing the amount of habitable area for fish to the point that it is fatal, I doubt that lake has much chance of sustaining fish populations anyways.

[BobT]

I agree that plant life plays a much bigger role, both in living growth and in dying. Living plants undergo photosynthesis exhaling oxygen. Dying plants absorb oxygen. If you read my first post you can see this. But I'm not so sure that ice depth doesn't have some effect.