14.18. A large number of fish are suddenly found floating dead on a lake. There is no evidence of toxic dumping but you find an abundance of phytoplankton. Suggest a reason for the fish kill.
The abundance of phytoplankton causes the reduction of dissolved oxygen present in water. This is due to the decomposition of phytoplankton by bacteria present in water requires a large amount of oxygen. Hence, they used the dissolved oxygen in the water. Thus the BOD level of water reduced below a certain level, preventing the growth of fish and causing excessive fish-kill.