The endangered but relentlessly resilient Devil’s Hole pupfish, which lives in Death Valley National Park, was in for quite a shock. The water-filled caverns they call home were shaken by an earthquake. A powerful earthquake with an epicenter approximately 500 miles away. On December 5th, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurred off the coast of Northern California. Their small aquatic habitat started shaking after just two minutes. Scientists believe that these waves, called “waves,” Seiche– It was nearly two feet tall.
The water in Devil’s Hole is usually still. The pool is protected from the wind and is located at the bottom of a collapsed cave. According to the National Park Serviceabnormal waves destroyed the shallow ledges that are the primary spawning grounds for Devil’s Hole pupfish. Most of the organic material from the shelves was moved to caves more than 500 feet deep.
“In the short term, this is bad for pugs,” said National Park Service biologist Kevin Wilson. stated in a statement. “It’s likely that a lot of the pug fish food has sunk deep into the cave, too deep for the fish to reach. There were probably destroyed pug eggs on the ledge. But the long-term This type of reset is good for your pug as it removes all the decaying organic matter that can cause pockets of hypoxia.
[ Related: Devils Hole pupfish are clawing their way back from the brink of extinction. ]
The Devil’s Hole pupfish is considered endangered due to: hellish environment They call home. Pugfish are currently found only in the upper 80 feet of Death Valley caves, on a shallow 11-foot by 16-foot ledge at the cave entrance. Although this is a desert, This area was underwater from about 542 million to 251 million years ago. These waters recede over time, and pugs have been in this area for at least 10,000 years.
Devil’s hole pugfish inhabit some of the smallest habitats of any vertebrate species on Earth. The water is Approximately 93 degrees Fahrenheit year roundfood resources are scarce and oxygen levels are such that other fish die. a 2022 survey The Devil’s Hole pugfish also turns out to be one of the most inbred species on the planet. This lack of genetic variation makes it difficult for them to reproduce and thrive.
Pugfish have survived such surf events most recently in 2018, 2019, and 2022. In the past, they responded to these disturbances by increasing spawning activity. Aggregate the latest surveys 191 in April– the highest number in the past 25 years – and 212 in September.
Wilson said the team don’t miss the chance Since this pug species has no other natural habitat, we can see how they would react. Biologists from the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Nevada Department of Wildlife are currently looking at ways to reduce the impacts on fish, which are also affected by climate change and groundwater pumping. This plan will likely include increasing the amount of supplemental food you feed your fish.
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