06-13-2005, 07:15 PM
Nevada- Traps biologists used to assess reproduction washed into Devil's Hole habitat nine months ago, killed more than third of tiny fish
A flash flood ripped through Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge nine months ago, carrying off a plastic storage tub full of fish traps that settled in a water-filled, limestone cave, home of the endangered Devil's Hole pupfish.
After a biologist ventured to the preserve, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, about two weeks after the Sept. 11 flood, the difficulty of scientists trying to protect the population of some 200 adult pupfish began to be realized. More than a third -- 80 in all -- had succumbed inside the few traps that didn't break as rushing water slammed them against a submerged shelf.
The traps, jars attached to funnels that allow pupfish larvae to swim into them without escaping, were being used by Southern Oregon University researchers to assess pupfish reproduction that has been steadily declining over the past decade. The tub used to store the traps had been stowed on dry land, inside a fenced area about 75 feet from Devil's Hole.
"Nobody anticipated that a flood event would sweep that box down into the hole," said Cynthia Martinez, assistant field supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "It was an unfortunate situation. It could have been worse if it was at a different time of the year."
The small circle of scientists with knowledge of the mortality mishap were reluctant to make the news widely known.
John Wullschleger, a fisheries biologist with National Park Service at Death Valley, Calif., which oversees Devil's Hole, said, "In hindsight, there definitely should have been a press release. People were choked up about the thing. ... They certainly weren't trying to hide it."
He said officials at Death Valley National Park were preoccupied at the time with flooding that had killed two people in a car and damaged dozens of miles of roads.
"One of the things that has come out of this is the park needs to hire a full-time person to work at Devil's Hole," Wullschleger said by telephone Friday.
Eventually, at a fall meeting in Tucson, Ariz., a report on the incident at Devil's Hole was made to the Desert Fishes Council. The group has been tracking the fate of the pupfish ever since the Supreme Court ruled in a 1970s case that groundwater pumping should not let water at Devil's Hole dip below a certain level to ensure the pupfish have a chance to survive.
As a result of discussions and e-mails among state, federal and university scientists, decisions were made to remove some gear and man-made barriers near Devil's Hole and curtail, at least for awhile, scuba diving that scientists rely on to count adult fish.
Jim Deacon, a longtime pupfish advocate and the zoologist who founded the UNLV environmental studies program, said he was shocked when he found out about the incident before a recovery team meeting.
"I thought, 'Oh my God. How could this happen,' " he said.
Deacon recalled that the team decided to take corrective steps to improve natural conditions at Devil's Hole "right away. If we don't, there's a chance conditions won't be suitable for successful reproductions this spring," he said.
Deacon said the flash flood accident that piled up sediment on the shallow shelf where pupfish eat algae -- the place they depend on as well for reproduction -- might have had a positive effect. The event heightened awareness about the immediate need to preserve the natural setting where pupfish have thrived in 92-degree waters.
Now, he said, biologists have even more leverage for making their case that groundwater pumping in the area should be limited or else the pupfish will have no chance at surviving in the fragile setting.
"Death is a terrible thing, but death of birth is even worse," Deacon said. "We're still holding our breath. I think reproduction is happening."
His research shows that pupfish found their way to Devil's Hole after having been dispersed into Death Valley from the Rio Grande and Colorado rivers 3 million years ago.
About 135 million years ago, as the supercontinent drifted apart, they existed on what is now the coast of North America.
As an insurance policy, biologists took steps more than 30 years ago to keep reserves of Devil's Hole pupfish in a spring-fed tank near Hoover Dam and another structure at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.
Plans call for an improved pupfish refugium at Ash Meadows.
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A flash flood ripped through Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge nine months ago, carrying off a plastic storage tub full of fish traps that settled in a water-filled, limestone cave, home of the endangered Devil's Hole pupfish.
After a biologist ventured to the preserve, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, about two weeks after the Sept. 11 flood, the difficulty of scientists trying to protect the population of some 200 adult pupfish began to be realized. More than a third -- 80 in all -- had succumbed inside the few traps that didn't break as rushing water slammed them against a submerged shelf.
The traps, jars attached to funnels that allow pupfish larvae to swim into them without escaping, were being used by Southern Oregon University researchers to assess pupfish reproduction that has been steadily declining over the past decade. The tub used to store the traps had been stowed on dry land, inside a fenced area about 75 feet from Devil's Hole.
"Nobody anticipated that a flood event would sweep that box down into the hole," said Cynthia Martinez, assistant field supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "It was an unfortunate situation. It could have been worse if it was at a different time of the year."
The small circle of scientists with knowledge of the mortality mishap were reluctant to make the news widely known.
John Wullschleger, a fisheries biologist with National Park Service at Death Valley, Calif., which oversees Devil's Hole, said, "In hindsight, there definitely should have been a press release. People were choked up about the thing. ... They certainly weren't trying to hide it."
He said officials at Death Valley National Park were preoccupied at the time with flooding that had killed two people in a car and damaged dozens of miles of roads.
"One of the things that has come out of this is the park needs to hire a full-time person to work at Devil's Hole," Wullschleger said by telephone Friday.
Eventually, at a fall meeting in Tucson, Ariz., a report on the incident at Devil's Hole was made to the Desert Fishes Council. The group has been tracking the fate of the pupfish ever since the Supreme Court ruled in a 1970s case that groundwater pumping should not let water at Devil's Hole dip below a certain level to ensure the pupfish have a chance to survive.
As a result of discussions and e-mails among state, federal and university scientists, decisions were made to remove some gear and man-made barriers near Devil's Hole and curtail, at least for awhile, scuba diving that scientists rely on to count adult fish.
Jim Deacon, a longtime pupfish advocate and the zoologist who founded the UNLV environmental studies program, said he was shocked when he found out about the incident before a recovery team meeting.
"I thought, 'Oh my God. How could this happen,' " he said.
Deacon recalled that the team decided to take corrective steps to improve natural conditions at Devil's Hole "right away. If we don't, there's a chance conditions won't be suitable for successful reproductions this spring," he said.
Deacon said the flash flood accident that piled up sediment on the shallow shelf where pupfish eat algae -- the place they depend on as well for reproduction -- might have had a positive effect. The event heightened awareness about the immediate need to preserve the natural setting where pupfish have thrived in 92-degree waters.
Now, he said, biologists have even more leverage for making their case that groundwater pumping in the area should be limited or else the pupfish will have no chance at surviving in the fragile setting.
"Death is a terrible thing, but death of birth is even worse," Deacon said. "We're still holding our breath. I think reproduction is happening."
His research shows that pupfish found their way to Devil's Hole after having been dispersed into Death Valley from the Rio Grande and Colorado rivers 3 million years ago.
About 135 million years ago, as the supercontinent drifted apart, they existed on what is now the coast of North America.
As an insurance policy, biologists took steps more than 30 years ago to keep reserves of Devil's Hole pupfish in a spring-fed tank near Hoover Dam and another structure at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.
Plans call for an improved pupfish refugium at Ash Meadows.
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