TY - JOUR
T1 - Identifying critical habitat of the endangered vaquita (Phocoena sinus) with regional δ13C and δ15N isoscapes of the Upper Gulf of California, Mexico
AU - Rodríguez-Pérez, Mónica Y.
AU - Aurioles-Gamboa, David
AU - Sánchez-Velásco, Laura
AU - Lavín, Miguel F.
AU - Newsome, Seth D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Society for Marine Mammalogy
PY - 2018/7
Y1 - 2018/7
N2 - The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is the world's most endangered cetacean and has experienced a 60% reduction in the size of its population in the past decade. Knowledge of its basic ecology is essential for developing successful management plans to protect and conserve this species. In this study, we identified vaquita foraging areas by creating an isoscape of the Upper Gulf of California (UGC) based on sediment and zooplankton carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values. Our results confirm that this species is confined to the western region of the UGC, which is characterized by relatively high δ15N values (sediments: 10.2‰ ± 2.0‰, zooplankton: 15.8‰ ± 1.3‰), higher sea surface temperatures (∼16°C–25°C), higher concentrations of silt in sediments, and the highest turbidity. In contrast, the eastern region of the UGC had relatively low sediment (7.7‰ ± 2.4‰) and zooplankton (14.6‰ ± 1.0‰) δ15N values, and the highest concentrations of sand in sediments. Our approach is an effective use of marine isoscapes over a small spatial scale (<200 km) to identify the environmental characteristics that define the critical habitat for an extremely endangered marine mammal.
AB - The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is the world's most endangered cetacean and has experienced a 60% reduction in the size of its population in the past decade. Knowledge of its basic ecology is essential for developing successful management plans to protect and conserve this species. In this study, we identified vaquita foraging areas by creating an isoscape of the Upper Gulf of California (UGC) based on sediment and zooplankton carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values. Our results confirm that this species is confined to the western region of the UGC, which is characterized by relatively high δ15N values (sediments: 10.2‰ ± 2.0‰, zooplankton: 15.8‰ ± 1.3‰), higher sea surface temperatures (∼16°C–25°C), higher concentrations of silt in sediments, and the highest turbidity. In contrast, the eastern region of the UGC had relatively low sediment (7.7‰ ± 2.4‰) and zooplankton (14.6‰ ± 1.0‰) δ15N values, and the highest concentrations of sand in sediments. Our approach is an effective use of marine isoscapes over a small spatial scale (<200 km) to identify the environmental characteristics that define the critical habitat for an extremely endangered marine mammal.
KW - Phocoena sinus
KW - marine isoscapes
KW - marine mammals
KW - porpoises
KW - stable isotopes
KW - vaquita
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85041747134&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/mms.12483
DO - 10.1111/mms.12483
M3 - Artículo
SN - 0824-0469
VL - 34
SP - 790
EP - 805
JO - Marine Mammal Science
JF - Marine Mammal Science
IS - 3
ER -