The Hypothetical Biodiversity of Loch Ness

Everyone knows about the sea serpent that is supposed to be hiding in the depths of the Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. The Loch Ness Monster, affectionately deemed Nessie, has been sighted on multiple occasions but his/her existence has never been proven. Theories ranging from Nessie being a mythical creature like a kelpie or dragon, to the monster being a "left over" dinosaur, have sought to explain the rumors. This post will rely on one assumption: that the Loch Ness Monster does actually exist. So what would happen if Nessie were to die?

First and foremost, we need to take a look at the actual habitat. Loch Ness is the second biggest lake by surface area in Scotland, but due to it's great depth, it is the largest by volume- it contains more water than all the freshwater lakes in England and Wales combined. It has several rivers and the Caledonian canal as primary inflows and it has the River Ness as it's primary outflow. Being a freshwater lake, this means there are fish species like trout, salmon and pike and plant species like freshwater algae and even water lilies. 

Secondly, one would have to determine what exactly Nessie had been eating all these years. Because most of the foremost scholars (I use this term loosely...) of the Loch Ness Monster believe that the creature would probably be omnivorous, eating both plants and animals, I'm inclined to agree with this. Therefore, if Nessie were to die, there would be a larger population of both plants and animals in the Loch Ness due to the absence of one of the habitats largest predators. As well, because of the Loch Ness's inflow from multiple rivers, it's likely that more animals will come into the loch in the days of post-mortem Nessie because it's likely that such a monster was very territorial and because of it's supposed size, would probably need a lot of territory. 

And last in this blog, we'd have to think about what would happen to the remains of Nessie. Certainly, he/she would have to decompose. If the monster is big enough, it's rotting carcass could actually pollute the water supply. If this occurs, more delicate creatures like certain types of bugs and small fish, could possibly die out as a result. 

And that's all today on the hypothetical biodiversity of Loch Ness.