Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology (2012)
Phocoena sinus (vaquita) is a small marine harbor porpoise endemic to the Gulf of California that is believed to be the most endangered cetacean in the world as reported by…
Comparative morphology of porpoise (Cetacea: Phocoenidae) pterygoid sinuses: Phylogenetic and functional implications
Racicot, Rachel A.; Berta, Annalisa
Journal of Morphology (2012)
High-resolution X-ray computed tomographic scans were used to examine pterygoid sinus morphology within extant porpoise species and one delphinid (Tursiops truncatus), in order to consider: 1) intraspecific and interspecific variation…
Insufficient data are available to predict the success of protected areas for the vaquita (Phocoena sinus): A critique of Gerrodette and Rojas-Bracho (2011)
Lonergan, Mike
Marine Mammal Science (2012)
(...) Gerrodette and Rojas-Bracho (2011) fit a quite detailed Bayesian model to sparse data on vaquita (Phocoena sinus) abundance in order to investigate the likely effects of different degrees of…
Inference from limited data: A response to Lonergan
Gerrodette, Tim; Rojas-Bracho, Lorenzo
Marine Mammal Science (2012)
(...) Lonergan (2012) criticized the analysis of Gerrodette and Rojas-Bracho (2011), who estimated the success of three possible protected areas for the critically endangered vaquita (Phocoena sinus) proposed under the…
Exploring trade-offs between fisheries and conservation of the vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus) using an Atlantis ecosystem model
Morzaria-Luna, Hem Nalini; Ainsworth, Cameron H.; Kaplan, Isaac C.; Levin, Phillip S.; Fulton, Elizabeth A.
PLoS ONE (2012)
Background: Minimizing fishery bycatch threats might involve trade-offs between maintaining viable populations and economic benefits. Understanding these trade-offs can help managers reconcile conflicting goals. An example is a set of…
The ecological role of the vaquita, Phocoena sinus, in the ecosystem of the northern Gulf of California
Riofrío-Lazo, Marjorie; Arreguín-Sánchez, Francisco; Zetina-Rejón, Manuel; Escobar-Toledo, Fabián
Ecosystems (2012)
From an ecosystem management perspective, analysis of the functional roles of species is a challenge. It is valuable to determine which species are irreplaceable within a given community based on…
Morphology and variation in porpoise (Cetacea: Phocoenidae) cranial endocasts
Racicot, Rachel A.; Colbert, Matthew W.
The Anatomical Record (2013)
Evolution of endocranial anatomy in cetaceans is important from the perspective of echolocation ability, intelligence, social structure, and alternate pathways for circulation to the brain. Apart from the importance of…
Vaquitas and gillnets: Mexico’s ultimate cetacean conservation challenge
Rojas-Bracho, L; Reeves, RR
Endangered Species Research (2013)
There is a high risk that incidental mortality (bycatch) in gillnets will lead to extinction of the vaquita Phocoena sinus, a small porpoise endemic to Mexico’s northern Gulf of California.…
Sexual dimorphism and developmental patterns in the external morphology of the vaquita, Phocoena sinus
Torre, Jorge; Vidal, Omar; Brownell, Robert L.
Mar Mam Sci (2014)
A total of 56 vaquitas (Phocoena sinus) were examined to evaluate their sexual dimorphism and isometric and/or allometric growth in 35 external characteristics. Absolute and relative (to total length) measurements…
Report on vaquita rate of change between 2011-2014 using passive acoustic data by the expert panel on spatial models
Jaramillo-Legorreta, Armando; Rojas-Bracho, Lorenzo; VerHoef, Jay; Moore, Jeff; Thomas, Len; Barlow, Jay; Gerrodette, Tim; Taylor, Barbara
Scientific Committee Meeting Documents (2015)
The Expert Panel on Vaquita Acoustic Monitoring had its second meeting on April 28, 2015 to analyze the first four seasons (2011-2014) of the acoustic monitoring program. Results indicate an…