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  Anaid López Urbán recieved her Master’s degree in 2011 in Marine Science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City, D.F. She began working with LSIESP gray whale study team in 2009 where she is investigating the vocalizations of the gray whales and human noise in Laguna San Ignacio.  In 2012 Anaid [...]

FINAL REPORT OF THE 2012 GRAY WHALE RESEARCH SEASON IN LAGUNA SAN IGNACIO, INCLUDING NEW INFORMATION ON GRAY WHALES IN BAHIA MAGDALENA, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, MEXICO.   The Laguna San Ignacio research program in 2012 included monitoring of gray whale abundance and distribution,   assessment of residence time in the area, birth intervals, acoustic monitoring, [...]

Passive Acoustics Research Program Completes Fifth Year in 2012 Over the past five years the Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Project (LSIESP) has both directly and indirectly supported the collection of underwater acoustic data at the lagoon, performed by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) and the Autonomous University of Southern Baja California (UABCS), continuing [...]

Comparison of photographs of endangered Western gray whales obtained from the Sakhalin Island, Russia feeding grounds with photo-identified individuals from the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico breeding lagoons resulted in 14 matches between these two locations. These included six males, six females and two whales of unknown sex. Thirteen of these endangered Western whales were observed [...]

Gray Whale Abundance Increases for Second Year in 2012 The 2012 winter field research program documented a second consecutive winter of increased numbers of gray whales utilizing Laguna San Ignacio compared to their abundance during the 2007-2010 winters. Of special note was that numbers of mother-calf pairs reaching their highest numbers at the end of [...]

  The acoustics team of the LSIESP is comprised of scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California, San Diego (SIO/UCSD), in collaboration with researchers from the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur (UABCS) and the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). Over the past four years the team has collected [...]

The 2011 winter research at Laguna San Ignacio began in mid-January and continued until early-April 2011. This year’s projects and researchers contributed significantly to our goals and objectives for the Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program (LSIESP). We want to express our thanks to our sponsors, the residents of Laguna San Ignacio, and the eco-tourism [...]

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs contained in this website are copyrighted by The Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program and its researchers and may not be republished in any form without permission. A menos que se indique en otra forma, todas las fotografías contenidas en este portal de internet son registrado la propiedad literaria de [...]

Researchers report record high counts of gray whales in Laguna San Ignacio in 2011 By Steven L. Swartz, Co-Director LSIESP After four years (2007-2010) of declining counts of Eastern North Pacific gray whales within Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California, Sur, Mexico, the number of whales utilizing this lagoon during their 2011 winter breeding season was [...]

The “Ecosystem Science Program” at Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, Mexico develops social awareness and community participation in the conservation of this unique marine protected area. The program promotes the use of science based information to support sustainable development alternatives that are in balance with the natural components of the region. The program focuses [...]

The 2010 winter research at Laguna San Ignacio contributed significantly to our goals and objectives for the Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program, thanks the outstanding work and contributions of our researchers and students. Our major project this summer is the re-design and launch a new internet website for LSIESP. The new web-site will take [...]

The 2010 winter gray whale research at Laguna San Ignacio began in mid-January and continued until early-April 2010.  Gray whale abundance monitoring involved 15 weekly census counts of gray whales in the lagoon to monitor the number of whales in the lagoon each week and lagoon habitat use. Weekly census counts began on January 19th 2009 [...]

Isla Garza and Isla Pelicano in Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, Mexico historically served as roosting and nesting sites for numerous marine bird species that made their nests either in the Islands’ sparse, low vegetation or directly on the ground. At times, these colonies of ground-nesting birds contained as many as several thousand individuals. [...]

The Acoustics team performed two trips to San Ignacio Lagoon during the winter season of 2010: one initial visit to deploy bottom-mounted, long-term monitoring (LTM) instruments and a second, more extended expedition to tag individual whales. Scripps Ph.D. students Melania Guerra and Delphine Mathias arrived at the Lagoon campsite Kuyima Ecoturismo on February 5th and [...]

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs contained in this website are copyrighted by The Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program and its researchers and may not be republished in any form without permission. A menos que se indique en otra forma, todas las fotografías contenidas en este portal de internet son registrado la propiedad literaria de [...]

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs contained in this website are copyrighted by The Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program and its researchers and may not be republished in any form without permission. A menos que se indique en otra forma, todas las fotografías contenidas en este portal de internet son registrado la propiedad literaria de [...]

Local School Outreach and Classroom Presentations: In February LSIESP researchers and Jordan Bailey of the NGO Philanthropiece met with the school teachers at the Ejido Luis Echeverria School to plan classroom presentations about Laguna San Ignacio’s marine life and, the importance of conserving the lagoon habitat, and the natural history of gray whales. LSIESP researchers [...]

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs contained in this website are copyrighted by The Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program and its researchers and may not be republished in any form without permission. A menos que se indique en otra forma, todas las fotografías contenidas en este portal de internet son registrado la propiedad literaria de [...]

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs contained in this website are copyrighted by The Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program and its researchers and may not be republished in any form without permission. A menos que se indique en otra forma, todas las fotografías contenidas en este portal de internet son registrado la propiedad literaria de [...]

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs contained in this website are copyrighted by The Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program and its researchers and may not be republished in any form without permission. A menos que se indique en otra forma, todas las fotografías contenidas en este portal de internet son registrado la propiedad literaria de [...]

This report summarises the black sea turtle research activities which took place in June 2009. There were four objectives to the reseach that summer. The first was to contribute to ongoing population monitoring efforts for this species in Baja California. The second was to determine the sea turtle mortality rates and causes of mortality in the San Ignacio area. The third was focused on determining what use the turtles make of the habitat in the lagoon, and the fourth on where they fit in the lagoon food web.

Objective: Determine the critical areas of seagrasses and seaweeds distribution in Laguna San Ignacio and in Gilmore’s Lagoon (Estero La Pitahaya) to the south as habitats for conservation of protected and endangered species, and the conservation of other marine species and their associated biodiversity. Project Overview San Ignacio Lagoon is part of the Vizcaino Marine [...]

As in previous years, LSIESP’s 2009 agenda featured a project in gray whale acoustics. Data collection and analyses were performed by a team of scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) in collaboration with researchers from the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur (UABCS).

The LSIESP researchers held the Third Annual Community “Reunion” at the Kuyimita campground on 28 February 2009. The Reunion brought together representatives from the Eco-Tourism Companies, fishermen, panga drivers, naturalists, and local residents to review the current LSIESP research activities in the lagoon, updates on climate change impacts on gray whales and other marine species, [...]

LAGUNA SAN IGNACIO ECOSYSTEM SCIENCE PROGRAM (LSIESP) Preliminary Field Report – 2009 The Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program (LSIESP) began the 2009 winter season with the arrival of the gray whale research Team at the lagoon on 17 January. The 2009 gray whale Team is led by Steven Swartz (CRA), Jorge Urbán (UABCS), and [...]

Understanding the spatial requirements of black/green turtles during this critical life stage is fundamental to their conservation (Bjorndal 1997, Nichols 2003). Here we report preliminary results on the fine scale movement and activity patterns of immature black turtles and provide future research goals, objectives, and initiatives.

The two primary gray whale research activities are conducting weekly census (counts) of the number of gray whales in the lagoon to monitor habitat use, and the on-going collection of photographic identification information (Photo-ID) of individual whales, especially females with calves that are indicative of the reproductive health of the population.

Monitoring of the number of gray whales that utilize Laguna San Ignacio and within other wintering gathering areas in Baja California indicate that water temperature can have an effect on the duration and lengths of their migration, and the aggregation areas the whales choose to use each winter. In the winter of 2009 the water temperature in the lagoon was 16-19 degrees °C during February and March, which was 2-3 degrees °C[MG1] warmer than in the previous winter, and this could account for the greater number of whales seen in the lagoon this year. The trends in water temperature within Laguna San Ignacio in 2009 were measured using autonomous recording devices placed on the bottom of the lagoon by the marine Acoustics program (see below). The water temperature reached a minimum of 15-16 degrees °C in mid February, and increased to a high between 19-20 degrees °C the first week in March.

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.

In 2008 we conducted our most ambitious San Ignacio Lagoon field season to date, consisting of one long term (four weeks) monitoring exercise using bottom recorders and one intense 10-day tracking effort with added acoustic arrays and bioacoustic tags on the animals.

Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program (LSIESP) 2008  FIELD RESEARCH SUMMARY  – MAY 15, 2008 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 [...]

Laguna San Ignacio is located in the west coast of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula and it is one of the four main calving-breeding lagoons of the eastern North Pacific gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus). First results are presented for the 2007 gray whale winter research season, and include: abundance estimates, density and distribution of the whales within this lagoon, photographic identification studies, and observations of “skinny” whales. Twelve complete census surveys of the lagoon were conducted from February 5 to March 30, 2007.

Continuing the successful collaboration of the past two years, scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) participated in this year’s scientific field season at Laguna San Ignacio, Baja CaliforniaSur, Mexico. Complementing the work performed by our partners, the focus of our study remains the acoustics of gray whales and the propagation of these sounds in the lagoon waters.

2007 Accomplishments: Gray whale abundance monitoring: Twelve complete census surveys of the lagoon were conducted from February 5 to March 30, 2007. The maximum count of adult whales was 217 on 22 February (197 “single” whales and 20 cows with calves). The highest count of single whales was 197 and occurred on 22 February, and [...]

Monitoring of invertebrate species composition, and spatial patterns in the epibenthic vegetation can help to detect and mitigate impacts anthropogenic activities and large-scale environmental change. Here we present the preliminary results of an initial assessment of the epibenthic and benthic community in San Ignacio Lagoon, within the Viscaino Biosphere Reserve.

Field studies of breeding gray whales in Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, México, were conducted during February 2006. Participants were Dr. Jorge Urbán Ramírez, M en C. Alejandro Gómez Gallardo, Biol. Mar. Sergio González Carrillo, Biol. Mar. Benjamín Troyo Vega and Biol. Mar. Mauricio Nájera Caballero from Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS), [...]