Underwater vessel noise in a commercial and tourist bay complex in the Mexican Central Pacific

David Alonso Rosales Chapula CHRISTIAN DANIEL ORTEGA ORTIZ Myriam Llamas González ARAMIS OLIVOS ORTIZ ERNESTO TORRES OROZCO Braulio Leon-Lopez Eduardo Romero Vivas (2022, [Artículo])

"Noise generated by ship traffic is increasing around the world. Hence, there is need to effectively evaluate anthropogenic noise levels in marine habitats. In this study, the noise contribution of ships in the Santiago–Manzanillo bay complex, on the Pacific coast of central Mexico, was assessed. The semienclosed bay complex is one of the most important commercial ports in Mexico, and it is an area with high biological richness and tourism demand, including demand by the informal humpback whale watching industry. Bottom-fixed recording systems were deployed at the entrance to the bay, near the commercial port (Manzanillo Bay), and within the tourist area (Santiago Bay). Monthly acoustic records were obtained from September 2015 to August 2016. Boat categories confirmed by visual sightings were associated with their acoustic signals. According to the diagnostic frequency range, vessel noise was classified into noise coming from large ships (50–220 Hz) or from small vessels (290–500 Hz). Large ships were always detected at both stations, while, as expected, small vessels were more common in tourist areas. Vessel noise in the entire area ranged from 130 to 170 dB (RMS re 1 μPa) and was present up to a median of 81.8% of the time throughout the year, with higher prevalence from 1200 to 1600 hours. Marine traffic activities were constant in the area, but frequency content and sound pressure levels were not equally distributed across the bay. Therefore, it is important to consider the possible differential impacts on marine fauna inhabiting the area."

"El ruido generado por el tránsito de embarcaciones ha ido en aumento a nivel mundial, por lo que se requiere evaluar objetivamente los niveles de ruido antropogénico en los hábitats marinos. En este estudio, se evaluó la contribución de las embarcaciones a los niveles de ruido en el complejo de bahías Santiago-Manzanillo, en la costa del Pacífico central mexicano. Este complejo de bahías semicerradas es uno de los puertos comerciales más importantes de México y, a su vez, un área con alta riqueza biológica y demanda turística, incluida la demanda de la industria informal de avistamiento de ballenas jorobadas. Desde septiembre de 2015 hasta agosto de 2016, se obtuvieron registros acústicos mensuales de sistemas de grabación fijos colocados en la entrada a la bahía, cerca del puerto comercial (bahía de Manzanillo) y dentro del área turística (bahía de Santiago). Los barcos avistados durante las grabaciones se asociaron a sus señales acústicas y se agruparon por categoría. De acuerdo con su rango diagnóstico de frecuencia, el ruido de los barcos se clasificó en barcos grandes (50–220 Hz) y pequeños (290–500 Hz). Los barcos grandes siempre se detectaron en ambas estaciones, mientras que, como se esperaba, los barcos pequeños fueron más comunes en las zonas turísticas. El ruido de embarcaciones en toda la zona osciló entre 130 y 170 dB (RMS re 1 μPa) y estuvo presente en una mediana de hasta el 81.8% del tiempo a lo largo del año, con mayor prevalencia entre las 1200 y 1600 horas. Las actividades del tráfico marítimo fueron constantes en el área, pero el contenido de frecuencias y los niveles de presión sonora no se distribuyeron por igual a lo largo de la bahía, por lo que se deben diferenciar los posibles impactos sobre la fauna marina que habita en el área."

ruido de embarcaciones, puerto comercial, puerto turístico, disturbio, ballenas vessel noise, commercial port, tourist port, disturbance, whales BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) ECOLOGÍA ANIMAL ECOLOGÍA ANIMAL

Los seres alados y solares del arte maya en el Norte de Yucatán

Rubén Morante (2023, [Capítulo de libro])

En nuestro trabajo de campo en el norte de Yucatán estudiamos la iconografía de sitios como Chichén Itzá, Ek Balam y Mayapán. En ellos observamos esculturas con gran calidad artística de seres humanos que portan alas y que, por ello, se presentan como seres celestes relacionados con deidades del panteón maya de los periodos Clásico tardío, Clásico terminal y Posclásico temprano. Para esta investigación partimos de un breve contexto etnohistórico, geográfico y arqueológico de otros sitios mayas, del centro y oriente de México, incluyendo imágenes de códices y pinturas que nos hablan del posible significado que las plumas, las alas y las aves tuvieron en Mesoamérica. Procedimos al análisis de las figuras aladas que se presentan en relación con importantes edificios de sitios del norte de Yucatán. La advocación solar que sugieren parece haber sido común y en esta zona, no sólo hablan de los grandes artistas que los esculpieron, sino de un sistema de creencias que pudo emanar de tradiciones mayas muy tempranas, que en el siglo IX d.C. se manifiesta de manera clara mediante un estilo depurado, una maestría técnica y una alta sensibilidad estética.

In our field work in northern Yucatán we studied the iconography of sites such as Chichén Itzá, Ek Balam, and Mayapán. There we saw great artistic quality sculptures of human beings that carry wings, and because of that we think that represented celestial beings related to deities of the Mayan pantheon of Late Classic, Terminal Classic and Early Postclassic periods. In our research we started with reviews of ethnohistorical, geographical and archaeological contexts in other Mayan sites, from central and eastern Mexico, including images from codices and paintings that tell us about the possible meaning of feathers, wings and birds in Mesoamerica. We proceeded analyze winged figures presented in relation to important buildings in northern Yucatán sites. Solar evocation suggested probably was common in this area and, sculptures not only speak about belief systems that could emanate from very early Mayan traditions, but also speak about great artists, that in 9th century AD. clearly manifested it through a refined style, technical mastery and high aesthetic sensitivity.

Arte maya, seres alados, Norte de Yucatán, Chchén Itzá, Ek Balam. Mayan art, feathers and birds, Northern Yucatán. Maya art--Themes, motives. Maya arts--Mexico--Yucatán (State) Maya sculpture--Themes, motives. Maya mythology. Arte maya. Mitología maya. F1435.3.A7 HUMANIDADES Y CIENCIAS DE LA CONDUCTA CIENCIAS DE LAS ARTES Y LAS LETRAS TEORÍA, ANÁLISIS Y CRÍTICA DE LAS BELLAS ARTES

Procesos oceanográficos asociados al desarrollo y dispersión de florecimientos de Gymnodinium catenatum en el norte del Golfo de California

Oceanographic processes associated with harmful algal blooms of Gymnodinium catenatum development and dispersal in the northern Gulf of California

GABRIELA RESENDIZ COLORADO (2023, [Tesis de doctorado])

Durante los últimos años, durante la temporada de invierno y primavera, se ha detectado la presencia de florecimientos algales nocivos (FAN) causados por el dinoflagelado Gymnodinium catenatum en el norte del golfo de California (NGC). Estos eventos tienen impactos ecológicos, económicos y sociales negativos porque G. catenatum es una especie productora de saxitoxina, la cual, está asociada al envenenamiento paralítico por consumo de mariscos, lo que origina que la autoridad sanitaria se vea en la necesidad de implementar vedas en áreas de extracción de almeja generosa en el NGC al detectar producto contaminado. Por lo tanto, es necesario conocer los procesos físicos que provocan la ocurrencia y recurrencia de estos eventos, así como contar con un sistema de monitoreo y alerta temprana que permita tomar decisiones y acciones oportunas de mitigación contra los efectos perjudiciales de estos fenómenos. En este trabajo se abordaron estas necesidades de investigación por medio de la implementación de un método de detección remota de estos FAN, utilizando la clasificación de máxima verosimilitud basada en los datos de dos eventos sucedidos en 2015 y 2017. Los resultados de este enfoque fueron satisfactorios al reproducir la temporalidad de la presencia de la especie documentada por medio de muestreos semanales en la bahía de San Felipe, así como de la detección geográfica en las áreas que se conocen que son afectadas recurrentemente. Para estudiar los procesos físicos asociados a estos FAN, se implementó un modelo hidrodinámico usando el Sistema de Modelación Oceánica Regional (ROMS) para el norte del golfo de California. A partir de este modelo se obtuvieron datos de variables como energía cinética turbulenta, temperatura, corrientes y se complementaron con datos de esfuerzo de fondo producido por oleaje estimados a partir de datos de la quinta generación del reanálisis atmosférico del clima global del ECMWF (ERA-5), los análisis de estas variables y la abundancia semanal de G. catenatum permitieron identificar que los principales procesos asociados a la formación de estos florecimientos es el incremento del esfuerzo de fondo asociado al oleaje y la turbulencia. Estos, a su vez, tienen una relación con el cambio en el patrón del viento que se caracteriza por ser del noroeste durante las temporadas de invierno y primavera. Respecto a la dispersión de los florecimientos algales, con base en los datos obtenidos del modelo hidrodinámico, se realizaron experimentos

During the recent winter and spring seasons, harmful algal blooms (HABs) caused by the dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum have been detected in the northern Gulf of California (NGC). These events have negative ecological, economic, and social impacts because G. catenatum is a species producer of saxitoxin, which is associated with paralytic shellfish poisoning, which causes the need to implement bans by the health authority in extraction areas of generous clam in the NGC when detecting contaminated products. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the physical processes that cause the occurrence and recurrence of these events and have a monitoring and early warning system that allows timely decisions and mitigation actions to be taken against the harmful effects of these henomena. In this work, these research gaps are approached by implementing a remote detection method for these HABs, using maximum likelihood classification based on data from two events in 2015 and 2017. The results of this approach were satisfactory by reproducing the temporality presence of Gymnodinium catenatum documented through weekly sampling in San Felipe Bay, as well as geographic detection in areas known to be recurrently affected. To study the physical processes associated with these HABs, a hydrodynamic model was implemented using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) for the northern Gulf of California. From this model, variables such as turbulent kinetic energy, temperature, and currents were obtained and were complemented with data on bottom stress produced by waves estimated from the fifth generation ECMWF atmospheric reanalysis of the global climate (ERA-5) data. Analyzing these variables and the weekly abundance of G. catenatum, it was possible that the processes associated with forming these blooms are the increase in bottom stress related to waves and turbulence. These processes are related to the change in the wind pattern characterized by northwest winds during the winter and spring seasons. Regarding the dispersion of algal blooms, based on the data obtained from the hydrodynamic model, lagrangian experiments were carried out to estimate the transport of the HAB. The results showed that the modeled dispersion corresponds with the detection carried out with the remote sensing method mplemented in this work for the 2017 event. The results obtained from this work are essential knowledge for the operational implementation of monitoring and early warning systems ..

Gymnodinium catenatum, florecimientos algales nocivos, percepción remota, modelación hidrodinámica, norte del golfo de California : Gymnodinium catenatum, harmful algal bloom, remote sensing, hydrodynamic modeling, northern Gulf of California BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA OTRAS ESPECIALIDADES DE LA BIOLOGÍA OTRAS OTRAS

PROPUESTA DE MANEJO DE LA PESQUERÍA EMERGENTE DE MERLUZA DEL PACÍFICO NORTE Merluccius productus EN EL GOLFO DE ULLOA, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR

PABLO MORA ZAMACONA (2023, [Tesis de doctorado])

"La merluza del Pacífico Merluccius productus se distribuye desde Alaska hasta el sur de México, con una población particular descrita al sur de la península de Baja California conocida como merluza enana, de la que poco se sabe. Dicha población actualmente no es pescada comercialmente, por lo que representa un recurso con potencial de explotación. Las pesquerías potenciales y emergentes crean desafíos y oportunidades para los administradores pesqueros que necesitan tomar decisiones sobre cómo gestionar de forma sostenible una pesquería previa a su inicio. Este trabajo propone y analiza posibles medidas alternativas de gestión pesquera para esta potencial pesquería, bajo incertidumbre biológica y de mercado. Debido al desconocimiento de diversos aspectos de la biología del recurso primeramente se analizó el crecimiento individual del stock y posteriormente se realizó un análisis bioeconómico de la potencial pesquería.

Para el análisis del crecimiento individual se utilizó un total de 240 otolitos y datos de longitud patrón de 932 especímenes muestreados de mayo a diciembre de 2015. La formación anual de incrementos en los otolitos se verificó mediante la relación de incremento marginal y el análisis de borde. La edad se estimó a partir de recuentos de anillos en secciones sagitales de otolitos y el crecimiento se analizó mediante un enfoque de inferencia multimodelo. Se consideraron los modelos de crecimiento de von Bertalanffy (VBGM), VBGM generalizado, Gompertz, Logístico y Johnson, los cuales se ajustaron a conjuntos de datos de talla a la edad observados y retrocalculados agrupados por sexo. Según el criterio de información de Akaike, el VBGM generalizado fue el más apropiado para las hembras (L∞= 31.36 cm, k= 0.15 cm año-1), mientras que el VBGM proporcionó el mejor ajuste para los machos (L∞= 25.35 cm, k= 0.28 cm año-1).

El análisis bioeconómico de alternativas de manejo para una potencial pesquería de merluza enana indicó que una nueva pesquería de dicho stock podría ser biológicamente sostenible y económicamente rentable, bajo un conjunto de estrategias de gestión y reglas de control. Se recomienda un acceso limitado con bajo esfuerzo pesquero ya que resulta más redituable por barco y biológicamente precautorio, considerando la alta incertidumbre asociada con la explotación de una población virgen..."

"The Pacific hake Merluccius productus is distributed from Alaska to southern Mexico, with a particular population described south of the Baja California peninsula known as dwarf hake, about which little is known. This population is not currently commercially fished; hence it represents a resource with potential for exploitation. Potential and emerging fisheries create challenges and opportunities for fishery managers who need to make decisions about how to sustainably manage a fishery prior to its initiation. This work proposes and analyzes possible alternative fishery management measures for this potential fishery, under biological and market uncertainty. Due to the lack of knowledge of various aspects of the biology of the resource, the individual growth of the stock was first analyzed and subsequently a bioeconomic analysis of the potential fishery was carried out.

A total of 240 otoliths and standard-length data from 932 specimens sampled from May to December 2015 were used for the analysis of individual growth. The annual formation of otolith increments was verified using the marginal increment analysis and the edge analysis. Age was estimated from annuli counts in sagittal sections of otoliths and growth was analyzed using a multi-model inference approach. The von Bertalanffy growth models (VBGM), generalized VBGM, Gompertz, Logistic and Johnson growth models were considered, which were fitted to observed and back calculated length-at-age data sets grouped by sex. According to Akaike's information criterion, the generalized VBGM was the most appropriate for females (L∞= 31.36 cm, k= 0.15 cm year-1), while the VBGM provided the best fit for males (L∞= 25.35 cm, k= 0.28 cm year-1).

The bioeconomic analysis of management alternatives for a potential dwarf hake fishery indicated that a new fishery for said stock could be biologically sustainable and economically profitable, under a set of management strategies and control rules. Limited access with low fishing effort is recommended as it is more profitable by boat and biologically precautionary, considering the high uncertainty associated with the exploitation of an unfished stock. Despite the combination of high fishing costs and low prices, the fishery could still be profitable in the long term, although there is risk of overexploitation if high fishing effort is allowed..."

Merluza enana, stock no explotado, crecimiento individual, análisis bioeconómico, pesquería potencial Dwarf hake, unexploited stock, individual growth, bioeconomic analysis, potential fishery CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS AGRARIAS PECES Y FAUNA SILVESTRE REGLAMENTACIÓN Y CONTROL REGLAMENTACIÓN Y CONTROL

Gamma-diversity partitioning of gobiid fishes (Teleostei: Gobiidae) ensemble along of Eastern Tropical Pacific: Biological inventory, latitudinal variation and species turnover

OMAR VALENCIA MENDEZ (2018, [Artículo])

Gobies are the most diverse marine fish family. Here, we analysed the gamma-diversity (γ-diversity) partitioning of gobiid fishes to evaluate the additive and multiplicative components of α and β-diversity, species replacement and species loss and gain, at four spatial scales: sample units, ecoregions, provinces and realms. The richness of gobies from the realm Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) is represented by 87 species. Along latitudinal and longitudinal gradients, we found that the γ-diversity is explained by the β-diversity at both spatial scales, ecoregions and provinces. At the ecoregion scale, species are diverse in the north (Cortezian ecoregion) and south (Panama Bight ecoregion) and between insular and coastal ecoregions. At the province scale, we found that the species turnover between the warm temperate Northeast Pacific (WTNP), Tropical East Pacific (TEaP) and the Galapagos Islands (Gala) was high, and the species nestedness was low. At the ecoregion scale, historical factors, and phylogenetic factors have influenced the hotspots of gobiid fish biodiversity, particularly in the Cortezian, Panama Bight and Cocos Island ecoregions, where species turnover is high across both latitudinal and longitudinal gradients. At the provincial level, we found that the contributions of the β-diversity from north to south, in the WTNP, TEaP and Gala were high, as result of the high number of unique species. Species turnover was also high at this scale, with a low contribution from species nestedness that was probably due to the low species/gene flow within the provinces. These results highlight the importance and successful inclusion of a cryptobenthic fish component in ecological and biogeographical studies. © 2018 Valencia-Méndez et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Article, biodiversity, biogeographic region, biogeography, gene flow, goby fish, nonhuman, phylogeny, species distribution, species diversity, taxonomic identification, teleost, animal, animal dispersal, fish, Pacific Ocean, phylogeography, Animal Di CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS AGRARIAS PECES Y FAUNA SILVESTRE PECES Y FAUNA SILVESTRE

Do marine reserves increase prey for California sea lions and Pacific harbor seals?

ALEJANDRO ARIAS DEL RAZO (2019, [Artículo])

Community marine reserves are geographical areas closed to fishing activities, implemented and enforced by the same fishermen that fish around them. Their main objective is to recover commercial stocks of fish and invertebrates. While marine reserves have proven successful in many parts of the world, their success near important marine predator colonies, such as the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) and the Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii), is yet to be analyzed. In response to the concerns expressed by local fishermen about the impact of the presence of pinnipeds on their communities’ marine reserves, we conducted underwater surveys around four islands in the Pacific west of the Baja California Peninsula: two without reserves (Todos Santos and San Roque); one with a recently established reserve (San Jeronimo); and, a fourth with reserves established eight years ago (Natividad). All these islands are subject to similar rates of exploitation by fishing cooperatives with exclusive rights. We estimated fish biomass and biodiversity in the seas around the islands, applying filters for potential California sea lion and harbor seal prey using known species from the literature. Generalized linear mixed models revealed that the age of the reserve has a significant positive effect on fish biomass, while the site (inside or outside of the reserve) did not, with a similar result found for the biomass of the prey of the California sea lion. Fish biodiversity was also higher around Natividad Island, while invertebrate biodiversity was higher around San Roque. These findings indicate that marine reserves increase overall fish diversity and biomass, despite the presence of top predators, even increasing the numbers of their potential prey. Community marine reserves may help to improve the resilience of marine mammals to climate-driven phenomena and maintain a healthy marine ecosystem for the benefit of both pinnipeds and fishermen. © 2019 Arias-Del-Razo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Article, biodiversity, biomass, climate change, ecosystem resilience, environmental exploitation, fish stock, fishing, marine environment, marine invertebrate, nonhuman, Phoca vitulina, Pinnipedia, prey searching, Zalophus californianus, animal, biom BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA)

Hyperiid amphipods from the Gulf of Ulloa and offshore region, Baja California: The possible role of the gelatinous zooplankton as a transport vector into the coastal shelf waters

Bertha Lavaniegos (2020, [Artículo])

Hyperiid amphipod species from the Gulf of Ulloa, Baja California, and the adjacent region (from the shelf break to 200 km offshore) were analyzed to evaluate diversity and abundances. This productive area supports small-scale commercial fisheries, including sand bass (Paralabrax nebulifer), California spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus), abalones, clams, and others. Strong coastal upwelling events were observed during summer seasons of the period 2002-2008 between Punta Eugenia and Punta Abreojos. The upwelling plumes at Punta Abreojos are transported southward in slope waters bordering the coastal shelf of the Gulf of Ulloa, contributing to the separation of coastal and oceanic regions, and explain differences in amphipod diversity and abundances between both regions. In the offshore region, the most abundant species were Vibilia armata, Lestrigonus schizogeneios, Primno brevidens, and Eupronoe minuta, similar to previous findings in northern regions of Baja California and southern California. However, abundances of these species were lower (10-30 individuals/1000 m3), only reaching 20-50% of abundance levels reported off northern Baja California. In the coastal shelf of the Gulf of Ulloa, amphipods were virtually absent during 2002, 2003 and 2006. However, during 2004 and 2005, abundances of P. brevidens increased (54 and 20 ind/1000 m3, respectively). Moreover, during the late summer of 2007, abundances of L. schizogeneios, P. brevidens, Lycaea nasuta, Lycaea pulex, and Simorhynchotus antennarius increased considerably (261, 39, 31, 68, 416 ind/1000 m3, respectively), indicating occasional utilization of the coastal shelf by pelagic amphipods. Changes in gelatinous populations (medusae, siphonophores, ctenophores, doliolids, and salps) paralleled changes in hyperiid populations, with highest abundances in 2005-2008 in the coastal shelf. Significant correlations of 17 amphipod species with gelatinous taxa, which are often used as host organisms by hyperiid amphipods, suggest that gelatinous presence enhanced hyperiid abundance and promoted the progression of hyperiid amphipods onto the coastal shelf during parts of the 2002-2008 period. © 2020 Bertha E. Lavaniegos. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

abalone, Amphipoda, article, Baja California, clam, clinical article, Ctenophora, Eugenia, female, fishery, human, human experiment, male, medusa, nonhuman, Panulirus interruptus, plume, summer, zooplankton, Amphipoda, animal, California, ecosystem, CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO OCEANOGRAFÍA OCEANOGRAFÍA

Movements of scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) at Cocos Island, Costa Rica and between oceanic islands in the Eastern Tropical Pacific

Elena Nalesso (2019, [Artículo])

Many species of sharks form aggregations around oceanic islands, yet their levels of residency and their site specificity around these islands may vary. In some cases, the waters around oceanic islands have been designated as marine protected areas, yet the conservation value for threatened shark species will depend greatly on how much time they spend within these protected waters. Eighty-four scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini Griffith & Smith), were tagged with acoustic transmitters at Cocos Island between 2005–2013. The average residence index, expressed as a proportion of days present in our receiver array at the island over the entire monitoring period, was 0.52±0.31, implying that overall the sharks are strongly associated with the island. Residency was significantly greater at Alcyone, a shallow seamount located 3.6 km offshore from the main island, than at the other sites. Timing of presence at the receiver locations was mostly during daytime hours. Although only a single individual from Cocos was detected on a region-wide array, nine hammerheads tagged at Galapagos and Malpelo travelled to Cocos. The hammerheads tagged at Cocos were more resident than those visiting from elsewhere, suggesting that the Galapagos and Malpelo populations may use Cocos as a navigational waypoint or stopover during seasonal migrations to the coastal Central and South America. Our study demonstrates the importance of oceanic islands for this species, and shows that they may form a network of hotspots in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. © 2019 Nalesso et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

article, Cocos Island, human, monitoring, nonhuman, resident, shark, South America, animal, Costa Rica, environmental protection, island (geological), movement (physiology), physiology, season, shark, Animals, Conservation of Natural Resources, Costa CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO OCEANOGRAFÍA OCEANOGRAFÍA

Trophic ecology of Mexican Pacific harbor seal colonies using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes

MARICELA JUAREZ RODRIGUEZ (2020, [Artículo])

There is limited information that provides a comprehensive understanding of the trophic ecology of Mexican Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) colonies. While scat analysis has been used to determine the diet of some colonies, the integrative characterization of its feeding habits on broader temporal and spatial scales remains limited. We examined potential feeding grounds, trophic niche width, and overlap, and inferred the degree of dietary specialization using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) in this subspecies. We analyzed δ13C and δ15N on fur samples from pups collected at five sites along the western coast of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Fur of natal coat of Pacific harbor seal pups begins to grow during the seventh month in utero until the last stage of gestation. Therefore pup fur is a good proxy for the mother's feeding habits in winter (∼December to March), based on the timing of gestation for the subspecies in this region. Our results indicated that the δ13C and δ15N values differed significantly among sampling sites, with the highest mean δ15N value occurring at the southernmost site, reflecting a well-characterized north to south latitudinal 15N-enrichment in the food web. The tendency identified in δ13C values, in which the northern colonies showed the most enriched values, suggests nearshore and benthic-demersal feeding habits. A low variance in δ13C and δ15N values for each colony (<1‰) and relatively small standard ellipse areas suggest a specialized foraging behavior in adult female Pacific harbor seals in Mexican waters. © 2020 Juárez-Rodríguez et al.

carbon, delta carbon 13, delta nitrogen 15, isotope, nitrogen, unclassified drug, carbon, nitrogen, Article, correlational study, feeding behavior, latitude, Mexico, nonhuman, organism colony, Pinnipedia, population abundance, species richness, troph BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA)

Effects of geostrophic kinetic energy on the distribution of mesopelagic fish larvae in the southern Gulf of California in summer/fall stratified seasons

FERNANDO CONTRERAS CATALA (2016, [Artículo])

Effects of geostrophic kinetic energy flux on the three-dimensional distribution of fish larvae of mesopelagic species (Vinciguerria lucetia, Diogenichthys laternatus, Benthosema panamense and Triphoturus mexicanus) in the southern Gulf of California during summer and fall seasons of stronger stratification were analyzed. The greatest larval abundance was found at sampling stations in geostrophic kinetic energy-poor areas (<7.5 J/m3), where the distribution of the dominant species tended to be stratified. Larvae of V. lucetia (average abundance of 318 larvae/10m2) and B. panamense (174 larvae/10m2) were mostly located in and above the pycnocline (typically ∼ 40 m depth). In contrast, larvae of D. laternatus (60 larvae/10m2) were mainly located in and below the pycnocline. On the other hand, in sampling stations from geostrophic kinetic energy-rich areas (> 21 J/m3), where mesoscale eddies were present, the larvae of the dominant species had low abundance and were spread more evenly through the water column, in spite of the water column stratification. For example, in a cyclonic eddy, V. lucetia larvae (34 larvae/10m2) extended their distribution to, at least, the limit of sampling 200 m depth below the pycnocline, while D. laternatus larvae (29 larvae/10m2) were found right up to the surface, both probably as a consequence mixing and secondary circulation in the eddy. Results showed that the level of the geostrophic kinetic energy flux affects the abundance and the three-dimensional distribution of mesopelagic fish larvae during the seasons of stronger stratification, indicating that areas with low geostrophic kinetic energy may be advantageous for feeding and development of mesopelagic fish larvae because of greater water column stability. © 2016 Contreras-Catala et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Article, autumn, Benthosema panamense, Diogenichthys laternatus, environmental factor, environmental parameters, fish, geographic distribution, geostrophic kinetic energy, hydrography, larva, nonhuman, population abundance, population dispersion, pop CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO OCEANOGRAFÍA OCEANOGRAFÍA