Researchers evaluate threat to endangered pupfish after Death Valley shaken by earthquake

The waters of Devils Hole in Death Valley National Park were rocked with two-feet high waves, or seiche, after a 7.0 earthquake hit Northern California. Now, researchers are evaluating how the quake might have impacted one of the park’s most endangered species, the Devils Hole pupfish. 

In the shallow waters of Devils Hole, the one-inch long Devils Hole pupfish fights for survival against all odds. They are thought to be some of the last remnants of a large ecosystem of fish that inhabited the area when it was covered by the waters of Lake Manly. At the end of the last ice age, Lake Manly dried up, leaving the present-day Death Valley. 

This pool in Death Valley is the only known habitat for this species of pupfish. Other species of Death Valley pupfish are found in other pools in the park, and are similarly endangered. 

The most recent survey in September counted 212 pupfish, according to the National Park Service. 

What this means for the species

Devils Hole is located in the bottom of a collapsed cave, and the shelter from the wind means the waters are normally still. The waves yesterday disrupted the shelf pupfish use as their main spawning area and swept much of the organic matter from the shelf deeper into the cavernous pool. 

“In the short term, this is bad for the pupfish,” said National Park Service biologist Dr. Kevin Wilson in a statement. “A lot of pupfish food just sank deeper into the cave, most likely too deep for the fish to get to it. There were likely pupfish eggs on the shelf that were destroyed. But, in the long term, this type of reset is good for the pupfish. It cleaned off any decaying organic matter that could otherwise cause pockets of low oxygen.”  

Pupfish survived earthquake conditions many times in the evolution of the species. They reacted to similar disturbances in the past by increasing spawning activity, which is beneficial for the continuation of the species. 

The National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Nevada Department of Wildlife biologists are evaluating how to mitigate the disruption on the fish. According to a park release, their plan will likely include increasing the amount of supplemental food supplied to the fish.