Saving the Yangtze finless porpoise: Time is rapidly running out

Huang, Shiang-Lin; Mei, Zhigang; Hao, Yujiang; Zheng, Jinsong; Wang, Kexiong; Wang, Ding
Biological Conservation (2016)

The Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) is the world's only freshwater porpoise and is endemic to the Yangtze River. However, it is now Critically Endangered, with its long-term survival…


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

Taylor, Barbara L.; Rojas-Bracho, Lorenzo; Moore, Jeffrey; Jaramillo-Legorreta, Armando; Ver Hoef, Jay M.; Cardenas-Hinojosa, Gustavo; Nieto-Garcia, Edwyna; Barlow, Jay; Gerrodette, Tim; Tregenza, Nicholas; Thomas, Len; Hammond, Philip S.
Conservation Letters (2016)

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…


Passive acoustic monitoring of the decline of Mexico’s critically endangered vaquita

Jaramillo-Legorreta, Armando; Cardenas-Hinojosa, Gustavo; Nieto-Garcia, Edwyna; Rojas-Bracho, Lorenzo; Ver Hoef, Jay; Moore, Jeffrey; Tregenza, Nicholas; Barlow, Jay; Gerrodette, Tim; Thomas, Len; Taylor, Barbara
Conservation Biology (2016)

The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is the world's most endangered marine mammal with ≈245 individuals remaining in 2008. This species of porpoise is endemic to the northern Gulf of California, Mexico,…


Genetic footprint of population fragmentation and contemporary collapse in a freshwater cetacean

Chen, Minmin; Fontaine, Michael C.; Ben Chehida, Yacine; Zheng, Jinsong; Labbé, Frédéric; Mei, Zhigang; Hao, Yujiang; Wang, Kexiong; Wu, Min; Zhao, Qingzhong; Wang, Ding
Scientific Reports (2017)

Understanding demographic trends and patterns of gene flow in an endangered species is crucial for devising conservation strategies. Here, we examined the extent of population structure and recent evolution of…


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

Thomas, Len; Jaramillo-Legorreta, Armando; Cardenas-Hinojosa, Gustavo; Nieto-Garcia, Edwyna; Rojas-Bracho, Lorenzo; Ver Hoef, Jay M.; Moore, Jeffrey; Taylor, Barbara; Barlow, Jay; Tregenza, Nicholas
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (2017)

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…


Differential population dynamics of a coastal porpoise correspond to the fishing effort in a large estuarine system

Lin, Wenzhi; Karczmarski, Leszek; Li, Jun; Chan, Stephen C. Y.; Guo, Lang; Wu, Yuping
Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (2019)

The finless porpoise (genus Neophocaena) is susceptible to fishery‐caused mortality, and its numbers are thought to be in decline across its entire range. However, population demographics have rarely been quantified…


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

Jaramillo-Legorreta, Armando M.; Cardenas-Hinojosa, Gustavo; Nieto-Garcia, Edwyna; Rojas-Bracho, Lorenzo; Thomas, Len; Ver Hoef, Jay M.; Moore, Jeffrey; Taylor, Barbara; Barlow, Jay; Tregenza, Nicholas
Royal Society Open Science (2019)

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…