2008 PROJECT SUMMARY REPORT

The 2008 year began with the launching of the LSIESP internet website (www.sanignacioecosystem.org) in September 2007. The website provides information on the Program, its goals and objectives, and disseminates the Program's findings and other information about the Laguna San Ignacio ecosystem and its marine wildlife. Between September 2007 and April 2008 the website received 82,000 hits from visitors that read and downloaded information on Laguna San Ignacio's marine ecosystem and efforts to provide conservation science for this marine protected area..

The 2008 winter field season at Laguna San Ignacio started with very cold water in January and February. The research team fro the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS) arrived at Laguna San Ignacio the third week in January and began surveys to document the number of gray whales in the lagoon. Surveys during the first four weeks documented the lowest numbers of gray whales, particularly mothers with calves, ever recorded in Laguna San Ignacio during the whales' winter breeding season. By mid-February reports were received from vessels traveling along the Pacific coast of Baja that gray whales were observed gathering in Toto Santos Bay off Ensenada and outside of the Cedres and Benitos islands. Gray whales were also being seen off Cabo San Lucas at the southern tip of the Baja peninsula (south of Laguna San Ignacio) and well into the Gulf of California as far north as Loreto.

The water temperature inside Laguna San Ignacio and immediately offshore during this time hovered around 15 degrees C, suggesting a colder than normal or "La Nina" oceanographic condition along the Baja peninsula. The last two weeks of February the water temperature increased to 18-19 degrees C, and whale surveys within the lagoon documented an increase in the number of whales comparable to those observed in recent years. We surmised at this point that the low whale counts and reports of significant numbers of whales outside of the lagoon were related to the prevailing colder water during the first half of the winter season. We know that the gray whales' winter distribution along the Baja California coast and in the Gulf of California is influenced by water temperature, with the whales moving further south and into the Gulf of California during cold water years.

The winter field season was completed the first week in April. In May several members of the LSIESP attended the Mexican Marine Mammal Society (SOMEMMA) conference in Ensenada and presented papers and posters on their research. In June Jorge Urban attended the International Whaling Commission’s Scientific Committee meeting in Chile and presented papers on gray whales in Laguna San Ignacio. Analysis of the 2008 winter field work will continue through the 2008 summer.

Gray Whale Monitoring & Assessment: The gray whale team was led by Co-PIs, Dr. Jorge Urban R. from the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS) in La Paz, Steven Swartz of Cetacean Research Associates, Maryland USA, and included four UABCS graduate students (Alejandro Gómez-Gallardo U., Sergio González C., Benjamín Troyo V., and Mauricio Nájera C.) and two volunteers (Anaid López U. of UABCS and Angie Sremba of Oregon State University). The team arrived at Laguna San Ignacio the third week in January, and completed 14 surveys of the number of gray whales in the lagoon by the end of the 2008 winter season in early April. This completes a 30-year series of census surveys that began in 1978, the longest such series for any of the gray whale breeding lagoons in Baja California. Surveys during the first four weeks of 2008 documented the lowest numbers of gray whales, particularly mothers with calves, ever recorded in Laguna San Ignacio during the whales' winter breeding season. Gray whale photographic identification studies documented the presence of individual whales, particularly females with calves, within the lagoon's interior. Approximately 250 individual whales were identified from photographs. Analysis will continue through June 2008 to identify individual whales and calves of the year. Final analyses will determine annual return rates for individual whales, minimum duration of stay in the lagoon, calving frequency, intervals, and rates for known females, and allow detection and evaluation of any "skinny" or resource compromised individuals. Click here to see the complete LSIESP 2008 gray whale report.

Acoustic research and ambient noise documentation: In 2008 the acoustics research project was again led by Aaron Thode and his graduate student Melania Guerra of Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Bottom mounted acoustic recorders were placed in two locations along the southern shore of the lagoon to monitor and record the ambient noise in areas just outside and within the whale-watching zone in the lagoon. Acoustic records of the frequency and levels of natural and anthropogenic noise will be analyzed during the 2008 spring and findings reported during the 2008 summer. In addition, six acoustic recording tags were successfully attached temporally to whales using rubber suction cups. These recorders documented ambient noise, and the whale's movements and behavior underwater and at the surface. This approach provides data on the whale's individual response to specific levels and frequencies of underwater noise, and documents the whale's swimming and diving behavior in real-time for correlation with the underwater noise. Click here to see complete the LSIESP Acoustics report

Black sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) habitat use in Laguna San Ignacio: Jesse Sneko from Univeristy of Florida, Gainesville, Volker Koch from UABCS, William Megill from the University of Bath, Bath, UK, and Ranulfo Mayoral from Laguna San Ignacio began the current Laguna San Ignacio black sea turtle field studies in November 2007 and population monitoring will continue through summer 2008. Immature black sea turtles were captured using entanglement nets, measured, weighed, and tagged before release. Sea turtle movements were tracked using VHF radio telemetry event loggers and GPS location electronics attached to floating tags tethered to the turtles with "break-away" links. Tagged turtles were released and tracked within the lagoon, re-captured every 12-24 hours and the data down-loaded from the loggers, batteries replaced and the turtles re-released to gather additional data. Tracking was terminated when the tether broke, or if it were still attached after 96 hours. Turtle movements were plotted on charts of the lagoon and will be analyzed in relation to rate of movement, surface and diving behavior, habitat correlates, and foraging behavior over 24-hr periods. This information will contribute to the evaluation of the importance to sea turtles of eel grass and other habitat types within the lagoon. As more data are acquired, multi-layered GIS models of the lagoon, including tidal cycles, seasonal features, and forage resources will be developed to illuminate the little known life history and habitat requirements of these sea turtles. Click here to see the LSIESP black sea turtle preliminary report

Analysis of historical whale-watching pressure: Whale-watching tourism within Laguna San Ignacio was documented each winter during the period 1978 to 1982 by Jones and Swartz (1984) and more recently by Kuyima Eco-Tourism since 1996. Alejandro Gómez-Gallardo U. and UABCS researchers began analysis of the most recent whale-watching records during the fall of 200, by converting the "paper" records into a digital database. Once compiled, the digital database will be analyzed to determine the number of whale-watching pangas that operated each day of each winter to determine the trends in the number of pangas that operated each hour of the day, each day of the week throughout each season. Trends in whale-watching activity will be compared with gray whale abundance and other wildlife trends during the same years and analyzed for correlations to evaluate the potential impact of this commercial activity within the lagoon.

"Second Community Reunion" Workshop: The Second Annual Science Workshop and "Community Reunion" was held at the Kuyima Campground on 27 February 2008. This community meeting was attended by 61 local community members and visitors to the lagoon including Eco- Tour operators, Fishing Cooperative Leaders, local government officials including the Director of the Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, Mexican and US based NGO ­environmental organizations, and local residents. The LSIESP investigators presented updates on their various science programs and recent findings and entertained questions and discussion with the meeting attendees. These included gray whale" monitoring, passive acoustic monitoring, benthic fauna surveys and evaluations, sea turtle tagging & monitoring, and education-outreach programs with the local schools. Plans were discussed to have in 2009 a "Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Symposium and Festival" in the town of San Ignacio to increase public awareness of the marine protected area, its environmental, social and economic importance to the region. Click here to see the complete 2008 LSIESP Community Reunion report

Naturalist training & Educational Outreach: Throughout the 2008 winter research season LSIESP researchers met with the naturalists staff of the various eco-tourism companies that operate eco-tour excursions within Laguna San Ignacio to discuss and exchange information on the lagoon and its wildlife, especially the gray whales. LSIESP staff developed power-point presentations and provided these as reference materials to naturalists working at the lagoon on CDs. Presentations on the Laguna San Ignacio marine ecosystem and wildlife were provided by LSIESP researchers to eco-tourists visiting the lagoon and to the local school groups s in the nearby Ejido Luis Escheverria Alvarez.

Discussions were initiated in 2008 for future LSIESP projects that include: measuring and monitoring the primary production and specific physical and chemical water variables in the lagoon; photographic identification of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) population in the lagoon; photographically monitoring and evaluating impact of the new sealion (Zalophus californianus) rookeries and haul-out areas on Islas Garzas and Pelicano in the northern portion of the lagoon; discussions with the Director of the Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve concerning future collaboration on specific science projects, and with Pronatura-Noroeste to collaborate on a conservation program for water fowl and migratory birds at Laguna San Ignacio.

Plans for an Ecosystem Symposium in San Ignacio for 2009: The LSIESP researchers received commitments from six active Eco-Tourism companies to co-sponsor a "Laguna San Ignacio Science Symposium" in the town of San Ignacio during the spring of 2009. The Science Symposium will include a day of science based presentations targeting the local San Ignacio and Ejido Luis Echeverria Alvarez school children, their parents, and interested public. The following day will include field trips to the lagoon to view the gray whales, mangrove estuaries and marine birds, and other wildlife that reside at the lagoon.

Science laboratory Upgrade: The LSIESP field laboratory built in 2007 serves as a location for researchers and students to base their field studies and conduct preliminary data analysis. The 7 x 7 m "Palapa" also serves as an example of "green alternative technology" because its electrical system converts solar and wind energy into electrical power for charging computer, camera, and other equipment batteries, and to run lights at night. The wind generator was installed in 2007, and in 2008 a solar panel was added to the system to augment the electrical generating capacity of the field laboratory. Many lagoon visitors and local school students have visited the laboratory during the winter field season where LSIESP researchers frequently respond to questions about their research and the lagoon ecosystem. Click here to see photos of the LSIESP field laboratory COMING SOON !!