A disparate selection of toothed whales (Odontoceti) share striking features of their acoustic repertoires including the absence of whistles and high frequency but weak (low peak-to-peak source level) clicks that…
The recent likely extinction of the baiji (Chinese river dolphin [Lipotes vexillifer]) (Turvey et al. 2007) makes the vaquita (Gulf of California porpoise [Phocoena sinus]) the most endangered cetacean. The…
Although many studies confirm long-term small isolated populations (e.g. island endemics) commonly sustain low neutral genetic variation as a result of genetic drift, it is less clear how selection on…
(...) During April 1997 the acoustic detector was successfully used to detect vaquitas for the first time. On that occasion we surveyed on a fixed location, aboard an outboard motor…
Heterochrony, the change in timing of developmental processes, is thought to be a key process shaping the numerous limb morphologies of tetrapods. Through a delayed offset in digit development, all…
Two scientific efforts brought the need for immediate actions to conserve vaquita as a high priority for the Mexican government. Passive acoustic techniques (Jaramillo-Legorreta, 2008) revealed a negative trend of…
(...) In the autumn of 2008, a large-scale international effort to study the vaquita and develop methods to monitor its population status was conducted. As part of this effort, we…
A line-transect survey for the critically endangered vaquita, Phocoena sinus, was carried out in October–November 2008, in the northern Gulf of California, Mexico. Areas with deeper water were sampled visually…
All extant members of Phocoenidae (porpoises) have been characterized as pedomorphic based on skeletal characters. To investigate the ontogenetic background for pedomorphosis and assess interspecific differences in ontogeny among phocoenids,…
Bycatch in artisanal gill nets threatens the vaquita, Phocoena sinus, with extinction. In 2008 the Mexican government announced a conservation action plan for this porpoise, with three options for a…