The Effect of Climate Variability on Gray Whales (Eschrichtius robustus) within Their Wintering Areas.

The environmental conditions of the breeding and feeding grounds of the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) fluctuates at inter-annual scales in response to regional and basin climate patterns. Thus, the goals of this study were to assess if there are any relationships between summer sea ice on their feeding ground and counts of gray whale mother-calf (MC) pairs at Ojo de Liebre Lagoon (OLL); and if El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences the winter distribution of gray whales MC pairs in the three primary breeding lagoons of OLL, San Ignacio Lagoon (SIL) and Santo Domingo Channel north of Bahia Magdalena (SDCh). Maximum February counts of MC pairs were compared with the length of the open-water season at the Bering Sea during the previous year. Then, an ENSO index and sea surface temperature anomalies outside the primary lagoons was compared with the maximum February counts of MC pairs at these lagoons. Results showed that maximum counts of MC pairs in OLL correlates with sea ice conditions in their feeding grounds from the previous feeding season, and this relationship can be attributed to changes in nutritive condition of females. ENSO-related variability influences distribution of MC pairs in the southern area of SDCh during the warm 1998 El Niño and cold 1999 La Niña. This supports the hypothesis that changes in the whales' distribution related to sea temperature occurs to reduce thermal-stress and optimize energy utilization for newborn whales. Although this last conclusion should be considered in view of the limited data available from all the whales' wintering locations in all the years considered.

Statistical inference for extinction rates based on last sightings.

Rates of extinction can be estimated from sighting records and are assumed to be implicitly constant by many data analysis methods. However, historical sightings are scarce. Frequently, the only information available for inferring extinction is the date of the last sighting. In this study, we developed a probabilistic model and a corresponding statistical inference procedure based on last sightings. We applied this procedure to data on recent marine extirpations and extinctions, seeking to test the null hypothesis of a constant extinction rate. We found that over the past 500 years extirpations in the ocean have been increasing but at an uncertain rate, whereas a constant rate of global marine extinctions is statistically plausible. The small sample sizes of marine extinction records generate such high uncertainty that different combinations of model inputs can yield different outputs that fit the observed data equally well. Thus, current marine extinction trends may be idiosyncratic.

Extinciones en el mar: mitos y realidades / Extinctions in the sea: myths and realities

No hay duda de que el hombre ha provocado cantidad de extinciones, sobre todo en el medio terrestre. En el mar, en cambio, comprobar más allá de la duda razonable que el último representante de una especie ha desaparecido de la faz de la tierra es una tarea más difícil. En el presente trabajo se muestran los resultados más importantes de una rigurosa revisión de las extinciones marinas documentadas durante los últimos 200 años. Se encontró que ~50 por ciento de las extinciones y extirpaciones de especies marinas resultan dudosas porque no se considera información crítica acerca de su distribución espacio-temporal, o bien la evidencia que se utiliza para evaluarlas es insuficiente o inadecuada. Se concluye que 1) el hombre es capaz de eliminar especies marinas, en particular aquellas que naturalmente son más propensas a la extinción; 2) las extinciones registradas en el mar son menos frecuentes que las del medio terrestre, y a pesar de que existe una tendencia positiva en el número promedio de extinciones documentadas durante los siglos XIX y XX, la tendencia de las extinciones registradas es negativa en los últimos 100 años; 3) antes de declarar una especie como extinta, la evidencia que apoya tal declaración debe ser evaluada con todo el rigor científico; y 4) declarar de manera prematura la extinción de especies, pudiera afectar negativamente los propios esfuerzos que se inviertan para la conservación.

Efecto de la temperatura superficial y la salinidad en el reclutamiento del camarón rosado Farfantepenaeus duorarum (Decapoda: Penaeidae), en la Sonda de Campeche, Golfo de México / Impact of surface temperature and salinity on the recruiting of the pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus duorarum (Decapoda: Penaeidae), in Sonda de Campeche, Gulf of Mexico

We studied the long term effects of two environmental variables, salinity and surface temperature, on the pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus duorarum) population in the southern Gulf of Mexico, considering the relationship between recruiting and the concurrent shrimp stock depletion of the last two decades. Our data were collected from 1969 to 1991. Recruitment has been clearly declining, particularly in the 1970s, with an accentuated drop since the 1980s. Sea surface temperatures have steadily risen, particularly since 1972. The temperature difference between the mid 1970s and the late 1980s is 0.5 degree C. Salinity decreased throughout the period. From a long term perspective, recruitment is negatively correlated with temperature and positively correlated with salinity. The effects of temperature and salinity are statistically significant, explaining 52 % and 55 % of the variation in recruitment, respectively.

Con el objetivo de evaluar los efectos a largo plazo de variables ambientales en la población de camarón rosado Farfantepenaeus duorarum en la Sonda de Campeche, al sur del Golfo de México, se analizaron los patrones de variación del reclutamiento, la salinidad y la temperatura superficial de 1969 a 1991. El reclutamiento muestra una clara tendencia decreciente desde la década de los años setenta, con una disminución acentuada desde los años ochenta. La temperatura superficial muestra una tendencia al aumento, particularmente desde 1972. La diferencia entre la temperatura a mediados de los setenta y finales de los ochenta fue de 0.5 °C. A lo largo del periodo de estudio la salinidad disminuyó. En el largo plazo, el reclutamiento muestra correlación negativa con la temperatura superficial y positiva con la salinidad. Los efectos de estas variables son estadísticamente significativos, explicando respectivamente el 52 % y 55 % de la variación del reclutamiento y, aunque no implican relaciones causa-efecto, sugieren simultaneidad de cambio.

[Impact of surface temperature and salinity on the recruiting of the pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus duorarum (Decapoda: Penaeidae), in Sonda de Campeche, Gulf of Mexico]. / Efecto de la temperatura superficial y la salinidad en el reclutamiento del camarón rosado Farfantepenaeus duorarum (Decapoda: Penaeidae), en la Sonda de Campeche, Golfo de México.

We studied the long term effects of two environmental variables, salinity and surface temperature, on the pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus duorarum) population in the southern Gulf of Mexico, considering the relationship between recruiting and the concurrent shrimp stock depletion of the last two decades. Our data were collected from 1969 to 1991. Recruitment has been clearly declining, particularly in the 1970s, with an accentuated drop since the 1980s. Sea surface temperatures have steadily risen, particularly since 1972. The temperature difference between the mid 1970s and the late 1980s is 0.5 degree C. Salinity decreased throughout the period. From a long term perspective, recruitment is negatively correlated with temperature and positively correlated with salinity. The effects of temperature and salinity are statistically significant, explaining 52 % and 55 % of the variation in recruitment, respectively.

Reflexiones sobre la explotación recuperación y exintinción de poblaciones naturales / Meditate on the exploitation recovery and natural populations' extinction

La idea tradicional de que la explotación provoca cambios irreversibles en las espécies de interés comercial parece no estar del todo justificadas, sino al contrario, existen evidencias basadas en biología y genética de poblaciones que apuntan que no existen razones evidentes como para creer que una población no pueda restablecerse una vez suprimida la presión ejercida por el hombre. Al parecer, solo los cambios en el ambiente pueden llevar a las poblaciones a niveles a partir de los cuales ya no puedan recuperarse. Se hace una revisión de varios casos que apoyan ésta hipótesis