"There have been observations in the past that after flooding events and after these earthquakes that the fish have evolved to respond by increasing their spawning," said Kevin Wilson, a biologist with the National Park Service. "Think of it as like, 'Oh, no, there's been a drastic change to my home, my habitat. I'd better try to make more babies.'"
In 1967, pupfish were labeled an endangered species, one of the first in the United States. Before the mid-1990s, scientists counted between 200 and 250 Devils Hole pupfish each spring. But over the course of about 20 years, the fish's population count dropped to an average of about 90, with an all-time low of 35 fish in 2013.
About two minutes after the earthquake, the water in Devils Hole - about 500 miles away from the quake's epicenter - started flowing. Scientists estimate the waves, known as a seiche, were nearly 2 feet high. For the typically still-water environment, the waves disrupted the shallow shelf that the pupfish use as a spawning area, likely knocking eggs deep into the cavern.
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