Insights into the transboundary stock structure of white seabass, Atractoscion nobilis, along the coast of California and Baja California

Perspectivas sobre la estructura del stock transfronterizo de la corvina blanca, Atractoscion nobilis, a lo largo de la costa de California y de Baja California

ARTURO FAJARDO YAMAMOTO (2023, [Tesis de doctorado])

The white seabass (Atractoscion nobilis) is a transboundary fishery resource that ranges from California, U.S., to Baja California Sur, Mexico, and within the north of the Gulf of California. It has been proposed two stock structure hypotheses that exist across their range in the eastern Pacific. However, still there are important data gaps to fill to understand the stock structure of this species. The aim of this study was to develop more information to understand the Pacific stock structure of the white seabass by (1) enhancing the baseline (catch-effort) information for the Mexican WSB fishery, (2) estimating the size-at-maturity and (3) describe the horizontal movement patterns and habitat utilization of adult WSB. Results suggest that the landings of the Mexican white seabass fishery showed an overall increase over the past 70 years. Landing fluctuations were associated with shifts in contextual factors, such as market changes and geopolitical events. For the past 20 years, the majority of harvest has come from Baja California Sur, with landings concentrated primarily in the fishery offices of Ciudad Constitución, Punta Abreojos, and San Carlos. White seabass females from southern Baja California mature at a size of 72.7 cm, while the males mature at a size of 58 cm. Moreover, regional differences of maturity were estimated where WSB from California matures larger than those from southern Baja California. A connectivity degree of white seabass adult was estimated between the coast of California and the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula. Overall, areas around islands and coastal areas are high-use areas for adult WSB. The Channel Islands, the region off Coronado Islands-Ensenada, the San Quintin region, and the Vizcaino Bay region are essential areas for WSB since different WSB ontogenic stages have been recorded. The spawning (March-September) and none spawning (October-February) seasons for adult WSB have marked differences in habitat utilization. Two migration pathways were estimated: one, a dispersal movement where adult white seabass moved northward to an area around the Channel Islands in California and a southward movement along the coast of the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula where multiple high-use areas were occupied and, second a return movement from north and south areas to a constrained and restricted area off the coast of Tijuana and San Quintin. Considering the information generated in this thesis, we have ...

La corvina blanca (Atractoscion nobilis) es un recurso pesquero transfronterizo que se extiende desde California, EE. UU., hasta Baja California Sur, México, y dentro del norte del Golfo de California. Se han propuesto dos hipótesis que describen la estructura del stock de la corvina blanca a lo largo de su área de distribución en el Pacífico oriental. Sin embargo, aún quedan vacíos en la información biológica-pesquera que nos permita comprender de una manera más robusta la estructura del stock. El objetivo de este estudio fue el desarrollar más información que nos permita comprender la estructura del stock de la corvina blanca que habita el Pacífico mediante (1) la reconstrucción de los desembarques de la pesquería mexicana, (2) la estimación del tamaño de madurez y (3) la descripción de los patrones de movimiento horizontal y el uso de hábitat de la corvina blanca adulta. Los resultados sugieren que los desembarques de la pesquería mexicana de corvina blanca mostraron un aumento en los últimos 70 años. Durante los últimos 20 años, la mayor parte de la captura proviene de Baja California Sur, concentrándose los desembarques en las oficinas pesqueras de Ciudad Constitución, Punta Abreojos y San Carlos. Las hembras de corvina blanca del sur de la Península de Baja California Sur maduran a una talla de 72,7 cm, mientras que los machos lo hacen a una talla de 58 cm. Además, se estimaron diferencias regionales de madurez, siendo que las corvinas blancas de California maduran a una talla mayor que las del sur de la Península de Baja California. Se estimó un cierto grado de conectividad de la corvina blanca adulta entre la costa de California y la costa oeste de la península de Baja California. En general, las áreas alrededor de las islas y las zonas costeras son zonas de alto uso para la corvina blanca adulta. Las islas del Canal, la región frente a las islas Coronado-Ensenada, la región de San Quintín y la región de la bahía Vizcaíno son zonas esenciales para la corvina blanca, ya que se han registrado diferentes fases ontogénicas en dichas zonas. El uso del hábitat de las corvinas blancas adultas durante la temporada de desove (marzo-septiembre) y la no desove (octubre-febrero) fue diferente. Se estimaron dos rutas migratorias: una, con movimientos de dispersión donde la corvina blanca adulta se desplazó hacia el norte alcanzando el área alrededor de las Islas del Canal en California, y un movimiento hacia el sur, a lo largo de la costa del litoral oeste...

White seabass, stock structure, landings reconstruction, size-at-maturity, habitat utilization Corvina blanca, estructura del stock, reconstrucción de desembarques, talla de madurez sexual, uso de hábitat CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS AGRARIAS PECES Y FAUNA SILVESTRE DINÁMICA DE LAS POBLACIONES DINÁMICA DE LAS POBLACIONES

Rapid effects of marine reserves via larval dispersal

Richard Cudney Bueno (2009, [Artículo])

Marine reserves have been advocated worldwide as conservation and fishery management tools. It is argued that they can protect ecosystems and also benefit fisheries via density-dependent spillover of adults and enhanced larval dispersal into fishing areas. However, while evidence has shown that marine reserves can meet conservation targets, their effects on fisheries are less understood. In particular, the basic question of if and over what temporal and spatial scales reserves can benefit fished populations via larval dispersal remains unanswered. We tested predictions of a larval transport model for a marine reserve network in the Gulf of California, Mexico, via field oceanography and repeated density counts of recently settled juvenile commercial mollusks before and after reserve establishment. We show that local retention of larvae within a reserve network can take place with enhanced, but spatially-explicit, recruitment to local fisheries. Enhancement occurred rapidly (2 yrs), with up to a three-fold increase in density of juveniles found in fished areas at the downstream edge of the reserve network, but other fishing areas within the network were unaffected. These findings were consistent with our model predictions. Our findings underscore the potential benefits of protecting larval sources and show that enhancement in recruitment can be manifested rapidly. However, benefits can be markedly variable within a local seascape. Hence, effects of marine reserve networks, positive or negative, may be overlooked when only focusing on overall responses and not considering finer spatially-explicit responses within a reserve network and its adjacent fishing grounds. Our results therefore call for future research on marine reserves that addresses this variability in order to help frame appropriate scenarios for the spatial management scales of interest. © 2009 Cudney-Bueno et al.

article, environmental monitoring, fishery, larva, marine environment, marine species, Mexico, mollusc, nonhuman, oceanography, prediction, animal, biology, environmental protection, food industry, geography, growth, development and aging, larva, met CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO OCEANOGRAFÍA OCEANOGRAFÍA

Biodiversity conservation in an anthropized landscape: Trees, not patch size drive, bird community composition in a low-input agroecosystem

ERIC MELLINK BIJTEL (2017, [Artículo])

One of the most typical agro-ecosystems in the Llanos de Ojuelos, a semi-arid region of central Mexico, is that of fruit-production orchards of nopales (prickly pear cacti). This perennial habitat with complex vertical structure provides refuge and food for at least 112 species of birds throughout the year. Nopal orchards vary in their internal structure, size and shrub/ tree composition, yet these factors have unknown effects on the animals that use them. To further understand the conservation potential of this agro-ecosystem, we evaluated the effects of patch-size and the presence of trees on bird community composition, as well as several habitat variables, through an information-theoretical modelling approach. Community composition was obtained through a year of census transects in 12 orchards. The presence of trees in the orchards was the major driver of bird communities followed by seasonality; bird communities are independent of patch size, except for small orchard patches that benefit black-chin sparrows, which are considered a sensitive species. At least 55 species of six trophic guilds (insectivores, granivores, carnivores, nectivores, omnivores, and frugivores) used the orchards. Orchards provide adequate habitat and food resources for several sensitive species of resident and migratory sparrows. The attributes that make orchards important for birds: trees, shrubs, herb seeds, and open patches can be managed to maintain native biodiversity in highly anthropized regions with an urgent need to find convergence between production and biological conservation. © 2017 Mellink 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.

agroecosystem, carnivore, chin, conservation biology, driver, frugivore, granivore, habitat, human, insectivore, landscape, nonhuman, omnivore, orchard, resident, seasonal variation, shrub, sparrow, theoretical model, agriculture, animal, biodiversit CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA

Waterhole detection using a vegetation index in desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis cremnobates) habitat

Jonathan Gabriel Escobar Flores (2019, [Artículo])

In arid ecosystems, desert bighorn sheep are dependent on natural waterholes, particularly in summer when forage is scarce and environmental temperatures are high. To detect waterholes in Sierra Santa Isabel, which is the largest area of desert bighorn sheep habitat in the state of Baja California, Mexico, we used the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference water index (NDWI) from Sentinel-2 satellite images. Waterhole detection was based on the premise that sites with greater water availability, where NDVI was higher, can be identified by their density of vegetation greenness. For the detected waterholes, we estimated the escape terrain (presence of cliffs or steep, rocky slopes) around each by the vector ruggedness measure to determine their potential use by desert bighorn sheep based on the animals’ presence as documented by camera traps. We detected 14 waterholes with the NDVI of which 11 were known by land owners and 3 were unrecorded. Desert bighorn were not detected in waterholes with high values of escape terrain, i.e., flat areas. Waterhole detection by NDVI is a simple method, and with the assistance and knowledge of the inhabitants of the Sierra, it was possible to confirm the presence each waterhole in the field. © 2019 Escobar-Flores 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, bighorn sheep, environmental aspects and related phenomena, environmental parameters, habitat, Mexico, nonhuman, normalized difference vegetation index, normalized difference water index, water availability, waterhole, animal, bighorn sheep, CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS AGRARIAS CIENCIA FORESTAL CIENCIA FORESTAL

Multiple approaches to understanding the taxonomic status of an enigmatic new scorpion species of the genus Tityus (Buthidae) from the biogeographic island of Paraje Tres Cerros (Argentina)

Andres Alejandro Ojanguren Affilastro (2017, [Artículo])

Tityus curupi n. sp., belonging to the bolivianus complex, is described from the biogeographically distinct area of Paraje Tres Cerros in north-eastern Argentina. We also present a molecular species delimitation analysis between Tityus curupi n. sp. and its sister species Tityus uruguayensis Borelli 1901 to confirm species integrity. Furthermore, a cytogenetic analysis is presented for these two species which contain different multivalent associations in meiosis, as a consequence of chromosome rearrangements, and the highest chromosome numbers in the genus. © 2017 Ojanguren-Affilastro 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.

Argentina, chromosome analysis, chromosome rearrangement, genus, human, meiosis, sister, species, anatomy and histology, animal, Argentina, chemistry, chromosome, classification, ecosystem, fluorescence in situ hybridization, genetics, geography, isl BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA DE INSECTOS (ENTOMOLOGÍA) BIOLOGÍA DE INSECTOS (ENTOMOLOGÍA)

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)