I know what you’re thinking. What does a gravel road in the country have anything to do with a massive fish kill? To answer that question, take a second look at this “road”. The roadway is in fact a waterway in the Louisiana marshlands, and that’s not gravel. Millions of fish, some eels, and even a whale litter this little slice of the Gulf Coast, and many are suspecting it is related to the BP oil spill.
There’s no cause determined as of yet,but the mostly likely reason is either land-based pollution or oil eating microbes. When nutrient runoff from farm lands or industrial zones enters into any body of water, planktonic algae quickly take in the nutrients and multiply. The ensuing algae bloom consumes all of the oxygen in the surrounding water, starving other animals of this vital element. In a very similar fashion, oil eating microbes move into an area full of oil, quickly multiply as they consume it, and deplete oxygen. Those that cannot cope with the dangerously low oxygen levels quickly die.
