Wildlife

Seismic Spawning

The powerful earthquake that rocked much of Alaska and triggered a Pacific tsunami alert on Jan. 23 also shook one of the world’s rarest species of tiny fish into spawning.

Seismic waves from the temblor caused the water to slosh in a small pool at Death Valley National Park, which is the Devils Hole pupfish’s lone natural home. Only about 115 of the critically endangered species live there.

The sloshing water was a trigger for the males to gain a brilliant blue color, typical during spawning.

While this phenomenon has been observed after deep earthquakes in the past, park officials say it always amazes them.

Common Cold Infects Chimps

The same virus that inflicts the common cold on humans has been discovered in a population of wild chimpanzees that was ravaged by the pathogen.

The outbreak occurred in Uganda’s Kibale National Park in 2013, and scientists have just published a report on how almost 10 percent of chimps there died after being infected by the human rhinovirus C.

“We think this human common cold virus represents a grave threat to chimpanzees all across Africa,” said Tony Goldberg of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Humans have developed genetic resistance to the virus while living close to each other for the past 8,000 years, but chimps are extremely vulnerable to being infected by humans who intrude into their habitat.