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Research projects
Analysis of the growth rates of humpback whale calves taking into account the body condition of the females and under different conditions of human impact. For this purpose, two congregation areas with very different impact levels were chosen, Revillagigedo Archipelago and the waters adjacent to Los Cabos, BCS Likewise, work is being done to analyze whether there are differences between male humpback whales that use different reproduction strategies. during his winter stay in the Pacific of Mexico.
Humpback Whale Growth and Body Condition
Photogrammetry
Through traditional approaches such as photoidentification and habitat use analyses, we are analyzing the patterns of recurrence and fidelity to key sites of different species in the Pacific of Mexico, such as the Revillagigedo Archipelago and the southwestern Gulf of California, to understand the importance of certain areas for different species.
Cetacean ecology
Photo-ID
Knowledge about the space-time variation in the distribution of marine megafauna is essential to understand how the different threats faced by these animals and how they can affect them in the short, medium and long term. However, much remains to be learned about large-scale distribution patterns and their conservation relevance. Through Ecological Niche Modeling we are working to model the potential distributions for the present and under different climate change scenarios in the future, for different species within Mexico's Pacific exclusive economic zone and in adjacent waters. The objective is to understand how these patterns and how the Different species respond to these changes.
Macroecology and Climate Change
Ecological Niche Models
Foto: ©MMAPE
Foto: ©MMAPE
We are working on characterizing the trophic composition of marine mammals and different prey in the Bay of La Paz, in order to analyze which species these animals feed on as well as determine if they feed on some species of fishing importance. This is relevant because it has been argued that marine mammals damage fishing gear or affect fishing activity, however, we do not know if they feed on commercially important species.
Trophic levels of marine mammals in Bahía de La Paz and areas nearby
Feeding
Foto: ©MMAPE
Through the identification of free-living animals and stranding events, we are generating information related to the presence of interaction of different species with fishing gear together with our collaborators, in order to generate useful information to reduce or mitigate said interactions.
Bycatch of marine megafauna
Interactions with fishing gear
Foto: ©MMAPE
We are interested in knowing the causes of strandings as well as the correspondence of these events with human activities or environmental changes, so we are developing comprehensive approaches together with our collaborators, including diagnosis, care, rehabilitation, and release. of different species, mainly sea turtles, sea lions and dolphins.
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Note: Due to the current pandemic we are experiencing, this activity is canceled for students.
Rescue, rehabilitation and health with marine megafauna
Whale Museum Rescue Center
With the use of open access databases we are working to analyze the historical trends and the status of the fisheries of some species of fundamental importance in Mexico, particularly tuna species.
Status of fisheries for tuna species
Fishing
Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur. Carr. al Sur Km 5.5. Col. el Mezquitito. CP. 23080
© Esther Jiménez / MMAPE 2020