Extinction is imminent for Mexico’s endemic porpoise unless fishery bycatch is eliminated

Primary funding was by Secretaria del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Secretario R. Pacchiano). Mexican support was from SEMARNAT, CONABIO, CONANP, PROFEPA, SEMAR, and WWF-Mexico. US support from NOAA-Fisheries-SWFSC and The Marine Mammal Center.The number of Mexico’s endemic porpoise, the vaquita (Phocoena sinus), is collapsing primarily due to bycatch in illegal gillnets set for totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi), an endangered fish whose swim bladders are exported to China. Previous research estimated that vaquitas declined from about 567 to 245 individuals between 1997 and 2008. Acoustic monitoring between 2011 and 2015 showed a decline of 34%/year. Here, we combine visual line transect and passive acoustic data collected simultaneously in a robust spatial analysis to estimate that only 59 (95% Bayesian Credible Interval [CRI] 22 – 145) vaquita remained as of autumn 2015, a decrease since 1997 of 92% (95% CRI 80%-97%). Risk analysis suggests that if the current, temporary gillnet ban is maintained and effectively enforced, vaquitas could recover to 2008 population levels by 2050. Otherwise, the species is likely to be extinct within a decade.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Categorizing click trains to increase taxonomic precision in echolocation click loggers

L.R. and K.J.P. were supported by Marine Scotland Science and the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS) pooling initiative and their support is gratefully acknowledged. MASTS is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions.Passive acoustic monitoring is an efficient way to study acoustically active animals but species identification remains a major challenge. C-PODs are popular logging devices that automatically detect odontocete echolocation clicks. However, the accompanying analysis software does not distinguish between delphinid species. Click train features logged by C-PODs were compared to frequency spectra from adjacently deployed continuous recorders. A generalized additive model was then used to categorize C-POD click trains into three groups: broadband click trains, produced by bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) or common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), frequency-banded click trains, produced by Risso's (Grampus griseus) or white beaked dolphins (Lagenorhynchus albirostris), and unknown click trains. Incorrect categorization rates for broadband and frequency banded clicks were 0.02 (SD 0.01), but only 30% of the click trains met the categorization threshold. To increase the proportion of categorized click trains, model predictions were pooled within acoustic encounters and a likelihood ratio threshold was used to categorize encounters. This increased the proportion of the click trains meeting either the broadband or frequency banded categorization threshold to 98%. Predicted species distribution at the 30 study sites matched well to visual sighting records from the region.PostprintPeer reviewe

Fin whale movements in the Gulf of California, Mexico, from satellite telemetry

Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) have a global distribution, but the population inhabiting the Gulf of California (GoC) is thought to be geographically and genetically isolated. However, their distribution and movements are poorly known. The goal of this study was to describe fin whale movements for the first time from 11 Argos satellite tags deployed in the southwest GoC in March 2001. A Bayesian Switching State-Space Model was applied to obtain improved locations and to characterize movement behavior as either "area-restricted searching" (indicative of patch residence, ARS) or "transiting" (indicative of moving between patches). Model performance was assessed with convergence diagnostics and by examining the distribution of the deviance and the behavioral parameters from Markov Chain Monte Carlo models. ARS was the predominant mode behavior 83% of the time during both the cool (December-May) and warm seasons (June-November), with slower travel speeds (mean = 0.84 km/h) than during transiting mode (mean = 3.38 km/h). We suggest ARS mode indicates either foraging activities (year around) or reproductive activities during the winter (cool season). We tagged during the cool season, when the whales were located in the Loreto-La Paz Corridor in the southwestern GoC, close to the shoreline. As the season progressed, individuals moved northward to the Midriff Islands and the upper gulf for the warm season, much farther from shore. One tag lasted long enough to document a whale's return to Loreto the following cool season. One whale that was originally of undetermined sex, was tagged in the Bay of La Paz and was photographed 10 years later with a calf in the nearby San Jose Channel, suggesting seasonal site fidelity. The tagged whales moved along the western GoC to the upper gulf seasonally and did not transit to the eastern GoC south of the Midriff Islands. No tagged whales left the GoC, providing supporting evidence that these fin whales are a resident population

Decline towards extinction of Mexico's vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus)

Funding: Field research, equipment and analyses were funded by Mexico’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, World Wildlife Fund Mexico and Museo de la Ballena y Ciencias del Mar (Mexico).The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is a small porpoise endemic to Mexico. It is listed by IUCN as Critically Endangered because of unsustainable levels of bycatch in gillnets. The population has been monitored with passive acoustic detectors every summer from 2011 to 2018; here we report results for 2017 and 2018. We combine the acoustic trends with an independent estimate of population size from 2015, and visual observations of at least seven animals in 2017 and six in 2018. Despite adoption of an emergency gillnet ban in May 2015, the estimated rate of decline remains extremely high: 48% decline in 2017 (95% Bayesian credible interval (CRI) 78% decline to 9% increase) and 47% in 2018 (95% CRI 80% decline to 13% increase). Estimated total population decline since 2011 is 98.6%, with greater than 99% probability the decline is greater than 33% yr−1. We estimate fewer than 19 vaquitas remained as of summer 2018 (posterior mean 9, median 8, 95% CRI 6–19). From March 2016 to March 2019, 10 dead vaquitas killed in gillnets were found. The ongoing presence of illegal gillnets despite the emergency ban continues to drive the vaquita towards extinction. Immediate management action is required if the species is to be saved.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT COSTS, AND BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA\u27S TRADE: A GRAVITY MODEL APPROACH

This paper examines the impact of transport infrastructure, as an important determinant of transport costs, on trade between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s fifteen largest trading partners. The estimation is based on a gravity model and panel data for the years 2005 to 2014. Transport costs have been estimated on the basis of distance, geography and quality of transport infrastructure, as well as on sets of "dummy" variables, such as the impact of borders, language or "dummy" variables for identifying whether a country is surrounded by land or sea. The results can be summarized as follows: (i) the quality of infrastructure and logistics is an important determinant of trade performance; (ii) the importance of distance is not diminished when the quality of infrastructure is included; (iii) Bosnia and Herzegovina trades with countries with which it shares a common language – ceteris paribus – twice as much as with others

Last call: Passive acoustic monitoring shows continued rapid decline of critically endangered vaquita

Funding: the Mexican Government (through the Mexican Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales), especially Minister R. Pacchiano and A. Michel; U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, in particular T. Ragen, R. Lent, and P. Thomas; the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Mexico, in particular O. Vidal and E. Sanjurjo; Le Equipe Cousteau; The Ocean Foundation; Fonds de Dotation pour la Biodiversité; MAAF Assurances (Save Your Logo); WWF-US; Opel Project Earth; Fideicomiso Fondo para la Biodiversidad; Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático; Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas; and Directorate of the Reserva de la Biósfera Alto Golfo de California y Delta del Río Colorado.The vaquita is a critically endangered species of porpoise. It produces echolocation clicks, making it a good candidate for passive acoustic monitoring. A systematic grid of sensors has been deployed for 3 months annually since 2011; results from 2016 are reported here. Statistical models (to compensate for non-uniform data loss) show an overall decline in the acoustic detection rate between 2015 and 2016 of 49% (95% credible interval 82% decline to 8% increase), and total decline between 2011 and 2016 of over 90%. Assuming the acoustic detection rate is proportional to population size, approximately 30 vaquita (95% credible interval 8–96) remained in November 2016.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Using technology to improve the management of development impacts on biodiversity

Funder: The research was funded through a long‐term collaboration between Conservational International and Chevron.Abstract: The mitigation hierarchy (MH) is a prominent tool to help businesses achieve no net loss or net gain outcomes for biodiversity. Technological innovations offer benefits for business biodiversity management, yet the range and continued evolution of technologies creates a complex landscape that can be difficult to navigate. Using literature review, online surveys, and semi‐structured interviews, we assess technologies that can improve application of the MH. We identify six categories (mobile survey, fixed survey, remote sensing, blockchain, data analysis, and enabling technologies) with high feasibility and/or relevance to (i) aid direct implementation of mitigation measures and (ii) enhance biodiversity surveys and monitoring, which feed into the design of interventions including avoidance and minimization measures. At the interface between development and biodiversity impacts, opportunities lie in businesses investing in technologies, capitalizing on synergies between technology groups, collaborating with conservation organizations to enhance institutional capacity, and developing practical solutions suited for widespread use