Captive breeding of the Devils Hole pupfish

Authors: Jennifer Gumm, Mitchell Stanton, Olin Feuerbacher

Year: 2019

Abstract

Captive propagation is vital to recovery and management of many imperiled fishes. With fewer than 200 fish restricted to a single pool in the Mojave Desert, the federally endangered Devils Hole Pupfish, Cyprinodon diabolis, seems a prime candidate for captive propagation. However, despite decades of attempts, propagation in aquaria has never been fully successful. While refuge populations had some success, ultimately all ended in failure. Since 2013, the Ash Meadows Fish Conservation Facility (AMFCF) has maintained a backup population of Devils Hole Pupfish. To establish the population, eggs were recovered from Devils Hole and brought to the lab at AMFCF for rearing and culturing. Herein, we discuss recent advances in captive breeding of the Devils Hole pupfish. Specifically, we highlight advances that resulted in fertilized eggs being collected from the refuge population and breeding trials in aquaria that produced fertilized eggs. Finally, we present results of a comparative analysis of eggs collected from the three sources (wild, refuge tank and lab aquaria) comparing egg production, hatching success and survival to adulthood. Understanding differences in reproduction between wild and captive fish is critical for recovery of the Devils Hole Pupfish and will help inform management of this and other species.