I know it isn't a creative title. Bear with me, I've worked for a long time today. Especially on this blog. Hope you enjoy and it's not really boring. :)
Today we helped with a survey of the endangered Desert Pupfish. These fish are very hardy to some tough environmental conditions: high salinity and temperatures up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. There are many different types of this fish and they live in South California, Southern Arizona, and Northwest Mexico. They live in and around the Sonoran and Mojave deserts in pools, streams, springs and ponds.
The Desert Pupfish are silvery brown with dark bands on the sides, and in the spring the males, which are larger than females, become an intense, shimmery blue with vibrant yellow fins. The rest of the time they resemble the females. And as to their shape... they look like fish. But small. An inch and a half is pretty long for them. Anyways, these beings eat algae, worms, invertebrates, and other things they find.
Even though they can survive in unfriendly habitats, the Desert Pupfish are being outcompeted for food and territory by mosquitofish, mollies, and tilapia. Crayfish, bullfrogs, and Rio Grande Leopard Frogs all eat Pupfish. Ponds that once had large populations of Pupfish now are mostly populated with the invasive species.
Today the survey was focused on discovering the number of Pupfish in each location. We put cylindrical traps into the ponds, baiting them with catfood. On each end of the cylinder is an inverted funnel. The fish swim in, but not out. It's really interesting.
Two hours later we pulled up each trap and emptied it into the bucket. We counted out the fish of each type, then threw them back in. In the first pond we monitored we found only two female Pupfish, but a huge quantity of mosquitofish and mollies. In the next were tons of leopard frogs, but the last one was a safe haven for Pupfish. No competitors live in that pond, so every fish we pulled up was a Pupfish. Being endangered, they got special treatment to make them feel less traumatized. They had a bubbler and were anylized faster.
I will tell you, it gets HOT out here. Today it got up to 108 degrees, and this is a cool summer. Normally it gets around 116 in the afternoon. I probably drank over two liters today, and now, in the cool house, am still drinking a ton, replenishing water. Even though it was hotter than I think I have ever felt, I wasn't miserable. The Pupfish survey was really fun, and in the heat, if you just decide to live with it, it's not too bad. It worked for a while, but after a few hours it got to be a little too much.
The ponds were created for fish stocking, and the water feeding them is pumped out of the ground. There used to be wetlands surrounding and more natural ponds, but the canal that fed them by seeping was paved, so now the wetlands are created by artificial means.
A couple ponds and most oases are surrounded by the native California palms. There is only one species of palm native to California, and they only grow around springs like that. The palm trees everyone associates with California are not the native trees. The native ones are the only palms that don't lose leaves, so as they grow, the dead leaves drop to form a massive brown skirt. They get really thick and tall. Walking in among them is awing. Everything is so peaceful, and the glaring light is filtered to a sweet green glow. It's such a relief getting out of the heat, too. Imagine being a settler before the times of air conditioning, traveling in the desert. The oases would be the most amazing thing to find.
I also got to try a date at one of the date farms.
I LOVE air conditioning.
Today we helped with a survey of the endangered Desert Pupfish. These fish are very hardy to some tough environmental conditions: high salinity and temperatures up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. There are many different types of this fish and they live in South California, Southern Arizona, and Northwest Mexico. They live in and around the Sonoran and Mojave deserts in pools, streams, springs and ponds.
The Desert Pupfish are silvery brown with dark bands on the sides, and in the spring the males, which are larger than females, become an intense, shimmery blue with vibrant yellow fins. The rest of the time they resemble the females. And as to their shape... they look like fish. But small. An inch and a half is pretty long for them. Anyways, these beings eat algae, worms, invertebrates, and other things they find.
Even though they can survive in unfriendly habitats, the Desert Pupfish are being outcompeted for food and territory by mosquitofish, mollies, and tilapia. Crayfish, bullfrogs, and Rio Grande Leopard Frogs all eat Pupfish. Ponds that once had large populations of Pupfish now are mostly populated with the invasive species.
Today the survey was focused on discovering the number of Pupfish in each location. We put cylindrical traps into the ponds, baiting them with catfood. On each end of the cylinder is an inverted funnel. The fish swim in, but not out. It's really interesting.
Two hours later we pulled up each trap and emptied it into the bucket. We counted out the fish of each type, then threw them back in. In the first pond we monitored we found only two female Pupfish, but a huge quantity of mosquitofish and mollies. In the next were tons of leopard frogs, but the last one was a safe haven for Pupfish. No competitors live in that pond, so every fish we pulled up was a Pupfish. Being endangered, they got special treatment to make them feel less traumatized. They had a bubbler and were anylized faster.
I will tell you, it gets HOT out here. Today it got up to 108 degrees, and this is a cool summer. Normally it gets around 116 in the afternoon. I probably drank over two liters today, and now, in the cool house, am still drinking a ton, replenishing water. Even though it was hotter than I think I have ever felt, I wasn't miserable. The Pupfish survey was really fun, and in the heat, if you just decide to live with it, it's not too bad. It worked for a while, but after a few hours it got to be a little too much.
The ponds were created for fish stocking, and the water feeding them is pumped out of the ground. There used to be wetlands surrounding and more natural ponds, but the canal that fed them by seeping was paved, so now the wetlands are created by artificial means.
A couple ponds and most oases are surrounded by the native California palms. There is only one species of palm native to California, and they only grow around springs like that. The palm trees everyone associates with California are not the native trees. The native ones are the only palms that don't lose leaves, so as they grow, the dead leaves drop to form a massive brown skirt. They get really thick and tall. Walking in among them is awing. Everything is so peaceful, and the glaring light is filtered to a sweet green glow. It's such a relief getting out of the heat, too. Imagine being a settler before the times of air conditioning, traveling in the desert. The oases would be the most amazing thing to find.
I also got to try a date at one of the date farms.
I LOVE air conditioning.
Excellent work Mara.
ReplyDeleteThey also live in Devil's Hole, Nevada... http://www.geol.lsu.edu/aengel/cave_pictures.htm Probably the only native habitat here in the Coachella Valley is at the Thousand Palms Oasis...Salton Sea are transplants by the US Fish & Wildlife plus a couple of other locations ...one being Anzo Borrega. A Ranger there tried to tell me that was the only place you could find pup fish.
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