Temporal and Spatial Variation in Larval Devils Hole Pupfish (Cyprinodon Diabolis) Abundance and Associated Microhabitat Variables in Devils Hole, Nevada

Temporal and Spatial Variation in Larval Devils Hole Pupfish (Cyprinodon Diabolis) Abundance and Associated Microhabitat Variables in Devils Hole, Nevada PDF Author: Lindsey Treon Lyons
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Aquatic habitats
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Devils Hole Pupfish

Devils Hole Pupfish PDF Author: Kevin C. Brown
Publisher: University of Nevada Press
ISBN: 1647790115
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Cyprinodon diabolis, or Devils Hole pupfish: a one-inch-long, iridescent blue fish whose only natural habitat is a ten-by-sixty-foot pool near Death Valley, on the Nevada-California border. The rarest fish in the world. As concern for the future of biodiversity mounts, Devils Hole Pupfish asks how a tiny blue fish—confined to a single, narrow aquifer on the edge of Death Valley National Park in Nevada’s Amargosa Desert—has managed to survive despite numerous grave threats. For decades, the pupfish has been the subject of heated debate between environmentalists intent on protecting it from extinction and ranchers and developers in the region who need the aquifer’s water to support their livelihoods. Drawing on archival detective work, interviews, and a deep familiarity with the landscape of the surrounding Amargosa Desert, author Kevin C. Brown shows how the seemingly isolated Devils Hole pupfish has persisted through its relationships with some of the West’s most important institutions: federal land management policy, western water law, ecological sciences, and the administration of endangered-species legislation. The history of this entanglement between people and the pupfish makes its story unique. The species was singled out for protection by the National Park Service, made one of the first “listed” endangered species, and became one of the first controversial animals of the modern environmental era, with one bumper sticker circulating in Nevada in the early 1970s reading “Save the Pupfish,” while another read “Kill the Pupfish.” But the story of the pupfish should be considered for more than its peculiarity. Moreover, Devils Hole Pupfish explores the pupfish’s journey through modern American history and offers lessons for anyone looking to better understand the politics of water in southern Nevada, the operation of the Endangered Species Act, or the science surrounding desert ecosystems.

Standing between Life and Extinction

Standing between Life and Extinction PDF Author: David L. Propst
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022669450X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 465

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North American deserts—lands of little water—have long been home to a surprising diversity of aquatic life, from fish to insects and mollusks. With European settlement, however, water extraction, resource exploitation, and invasive species set many of these native aquatic species on downward spirals. In this book, conservationists dedicated to these creatures document the history of their work, the techniques and philosophies that inform it, and the challenges and opportunities of the future. A precursor to this book, Battle Against Extinction, laid out the scope of the problem and related conservation activities through the late 1980s. Since then, many nascent conservation programs have matured, and researchers have developed new technologies, improved and refined methods, and greatly expanded our knowledge of the myriad influences on the ecology and dynamics of these species. Standing between Life and Extinction brings the story up to date. While the future for some species is more secure than thirty years ago, others are less fortunate. Calling attention not only to iconic species like the razorback sucker, Gila trout, and Devils Hole pupfish, but also to other fishes and obscure and fascinating invertebrates inhabiting intermittent aquatic habitats, this book explores the scientific, social, and political challenges of preserving these aquatic species and their habitats amid an increasingly charged political discourse and in desert regions characterized by a growing human population and rapidly changing climate.

Freshwater Fishes of North America

Freshwater Fishes of North America PDF Author: Melvin L. Warren, Jr.
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN: 1421435128
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 934

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H. Wilson

A Model to Understand Population Decline of the Devil's Hole Pupfish (Cyprinodon Diabolis) and Support Habitat Management Decisions

A Model to Understand Population Decline of the Devil's Hole Pupfish (Cyprinodon Diabolis) and Support Habitat Management Decisions PDF Author: Yuri V. Graves
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Devils Hole pupfish
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Population Ecology and Monitoring of the Endangered Devils Hole Pupfish

Population Ecology and Monitoring of the Endangered Devils Hole Pupfish PDF Author: Maria Christina Dzul
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Devils Hole (Nev.)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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The federally endangered Devils Hole pupfish, Cyprinodon diabolis, is endemic to Devils Hole, a limestone cavern adjacent to Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Nye County, Nevada. Sampling of the Devils Hole pupfish must be non-obtrusive, thereby limiting researchers to visual observation methods. This thesis assesses current monitoring efforts of Devils Hole pupfish with the goal of improving trend detection. In addition, a population model is constructed from monthly length-frequency distributions with the dual goal of increasing understanding of Devils Hole pupfish life history characteristics and identifying vulnerable Devils Hole pupfish life history stages. This thesis is composed of three chapters. Specifically, suspected sources of error in SCUBA surveys of adult Devils Hole pupfish were evaluated in the first chapter. In the second chapter, statistical power was used to assess sampling effort allocation (e.g., the number of samples, subsamples, and sub-subsamples) for surveys of larval Devils Hole pupfish. Patterns of Devils Hole pupfish survival, growth, and recruitment were evaluated after constructing a simulation model from length-frequency distributions in the third chapter. The ability to detect trends in population abundance, together with a greater understanding of Devils Hole pupfish population dynamics, will help Devils Hole pupfish conservation by allowing managers develop testable hypotheses and evaluate management actions.

Daily and Yearly Movement of the Devil's Hole Pupfish Cyprinodon Diabolis Wales in Devil's Hole, Nevada

Daily and Yearly Movement of the Devil's Hole Pupfish Cyprinodon Diabolis Wales in Devil's Hole, Nevada PDF Author: T. M. Baugh
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 5

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Devil's Hole Pupfish Recovery Plan

Devil's Hole Pupfish Recovery Plan PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Devils Hole pupfish
Languages : en
Pages : 94

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Aspects of the Ecology of the Devil's Hole Pupfish (Cyprinodon Diabolis) Wales

Aspects of the Ecology of the Devil's Hole Pupfish (Cyprinodon Diabolis) Wales PDF Author: Carol Jeanne James
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Atheriniformes
Languages : en
Pages : 140

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The Ecohydrology of Devils Hole, Death Valley National Park

The Ecohydrology of Devils Hole, Death Valley National Park PDF Author: Mark Blanchard Hausner
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Devils Hole, a water-filled fracture in the carbonate aquifer underlying the Mojave Desert, is home to the only extant population of Devils Hole pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis ). In the mid to late 1990s, the population of C. diabolis began an unexplained decline. A number of different hypotheses have been advanced to explain this decline, including the impacts of climate change. This study combines field observations and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling to address the effects of climate on the physical processes in Devils Hole, relating those physical processes to the conservation of Devils Hole pupfish. Fiber-optic distributed temperature sensors (DTS) were deployed in Devils Hole to observe temperatures at high spatial and temporal resolution, and the DTS data were used in conjunction with previously recorded temperatures to calibrate and validate FLUENT-based CFD models of convection in Devils Hole. Seasonal convection cycles in the deep pool of Devils Hole are controlled by surface temperatures and the geothermal gradient in the area, and occur primarily during the food-limited winter. Diurnal convection cells controlled by daily meteorological variation occur on the ecologically critical shallow shelf throughout the year, limiting the temporal window during which C. diabolis can successfully spawn. Simulations of the shallow shelf under past climate conditions and future projections show that climate change has likely already impacted the population of C. diabolis , contributing to their recent decline. Future simulations indicate that the window of annual recruitment is likely to occur earlier and earlier in the year, resulting in a shift of more than two weeks in the timing of annual recruitment cycle. This shift drives a considerable reduction of the food available to larval pupfish, reducing the likelihood of successful recruitment and exacerbating the conditions that led to the recent decline of the C. diabolis population. Finally, potential mitigation strategy of raising the water level in Devils Hole is examined, and future research into this strategy is recommended.