A desalination plant is set up in a bay to provide fresh, drinkable water by removing salt from ocean water and returning the re
moved salt to the bay. How might the resulting increase in salinity in the bay affect the fish populations? Temperatures would decrease making a more suitable environment for fish populations.
The food sources available to the fish populations would increase
Low levels of dissolved oxygen would decrease the diversity of the fish population.
Fish populations of all the species already living there would increase.
Low levels of dissolved oxygen would decrease the diversity of the fish population.
Explanation:
Salinity means an increase of the dissolved salt content in a water body.Water that has a high content of salt contains low amount of dissolved oxygen and therefore, it becomes a less appropriate environment for some aquatic organisms.
Although, most of the water bodies have specific optimal salinity range, They can adjust to live in that certain range, however, if salinity increases beyond that range , water bodies will shift from that environment to a new one that is more suitable for them to live. On the other hand, fish or other waterbodies that are more tolerant to salinity will migrate to this acquatic zone and will adapt there. But sometimes, an abrupt increase in salinity do not give alot of time to the fishes to relocate and they just die from salt stress. This has something to do with decreasing the diversity of fish population.
