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Thermal And Developmental Ecology Of Pupfish, Cyprinodon, Alexander Jones

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Pupfish from the genus Cyprinodon are among the most endangered groups of fishes on the planet, with nearly 40% of species being threatened with extinction. These pupfishes are often assumed to be the most temperature tolerant of all fish, coping with temperatures as low as 0 °C and as high as 44 °C. However, conflicting data exist and certain measures of thermal tolerance are not markedly higher in pupfish compared to common game fish. Pupfish egg production and growth has been known to be hampered at temperatures well below what they apparently experience in nature. I addressed why eggs fail …