Intrinsic rebound potential of the endangered (Totoaba macdonaldi) population, endemic to the Gulf of California, México

Background Totoaba, Totoaba macdonaldi, is an endemic species of the Gulf of California, where wide variations in sea temperature throughout the year, surface salinities that gradually increase towards the north, and contamination by discharge of wastewater have been recorded. In addition to the challenges of reproduction and swimming, its characteristic biannual migration presents totoaba with changes in environmental factors that could affect oxidative stress indicators. The objective of this study was to assess spatial and seasonal changes in the oxidative stress indicators in muscle samples of totoaba. Methods Reactive oxygen species production, antioxidant enzyme activities and lipid peroxidation levels were quantified by spectrophotometry. Results Results suggest spatial-temporal variations of the oxidative stress indicators in muscle of totoaba that may be associated to a complex interaction between environmental and biological factors, including reproduction and nutrient availability. These results contribute to explain the appeal of totoaba as a marketable meat and suggest totoaba may provide antioxidant nutrients to consumers.

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Viability of the vaquita, Phocoena sinus (Cetacea: Phocoenidae) population, threatened by poaching of Totoaba macdonaldi (Perciformes: Sciaenidae)

Revista de Biología Tropical ◽

10.15517/rbt.v69i2.45475 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 69 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Miguel A. Cisneros-Mata ◽

Juan A. Delgado ◽

Demetrio Rodríguez-Félix

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of California ◽

Population Viability Analysis ◽

Policy Recommendations ◽

Demographic Stochasticity ◽

Term Survival ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Viability Analysis ◽

Age Structured ◽

Totoaba Macdonaldi

Introduction: Despite extensive science-based conservation policy recommendations, with fewer than 20 individuals remaining, the vaquita (Phocoena sinus) -endemic to the Gulf of California- is the world’s most endangered marine mammal due to incidental catch in fishing nets and whether it can recover is unclear. Objective: Assess expectations for vaquita over the next two decades. Methods: We identified factors affecting the vaquita, constructed life tables, derived demographic parameters for different scenarios and conducted a population viability analysis using stochastic age-structured matrix Leslie models. Results: Analytical results indicate that the vaquita net growth rate is particularly sensitive to juvenile survival. We find that intensive, ongoing bycatch in gillnets used to poach totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) over the past decade brought the vaquita population to its current critically low size. Currently this seems to be exacerbated by demographic stochasticity and a potential Allee effect. Conclusions: If totoaba poaching is eliminated immediately, demographically, vaquita can recover; its long-term survival will depend on its uncertain genetic status, although a recent study found encouraging results in this regard.

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Influence of sex and maturity state on trace elements content in liver and muscle of the SciaenidaeTotoaba macdonaldi

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.11068 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. e11068

Author(s):

Lia C. Méndez-Rodríguez ◽

Berenice Hernández-Aguilar ◽

Juan A. de Anda-Montañez ◽

Eduardo F. Balart ◽

Martha J. Román-Rodríguez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Trace Elements ◽

Gulf Of California ◽

Linear Models ◽

Human Consumption ◽

Fish Length ◽

Maturity Stage ◽

Dietary Reference Intake ◽

Total Fish ◽

Totoaba Macdonaldi ◽

Migratory Movements

BackgroundThe fishTotoaba macdonaldiis endemic to the Upper Gulf of California. Its migratory movements involve sites with high levels of trace elements in the environment that can accumulate in tissues. In this study, lead (Pb), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) concentrations in male and female totoaba liver and muscle were quantified at various sexual maturity stages along the species’ geographic distribution.MethodsGeneralized linear models were used to explore associations between trace element concentrations and season of the year, sex/maturity stage, and total fish length.ResultsNo detectable Pb concentrations were recorded in liver or muscle; Cu, Cd, Zn and Fe contents in totoaba liver and muscle were typical of fish inhabiting areas with no contamination issues and are within international maximum permissible levels for human consumption. Variations in the content of Cd, Cu, Zn and Fe in liver of totoaba seem to be more related to the feeding and reproductive physiology of this species than as result of environmental exposure. Results suggest that consumption of totoaba muscle does not pose a public health risk. Furthermore, depending on the sex/maturity stage of totoaba, this fish’s muscle may provide approximately 70% Cu, 60% Zn and 100% Fe of the recommended dietary reference intake.

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Panmixia in a Critically Endangered Fish: The Totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) in the Gulf of California

Journal of Heredity ◽

10.1093/jhered/esw046 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 107 (6) ◽

pp. 496-503 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Fausto Valenzuela-Quiñonez ◽

Juan A. De-Anda-Montañez ◽

Elizabeth Gilbert-Horvath ◽

John Carlos Garza ◽

Francisco J. García-De León

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of California ◽

Critically Endangered ◽

Endangered Fish ◽

Totoaba Macdonaldi

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Characterization of fourteen microsatellite loci in the endemic and threatened totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) from the Gulf of California

Conservation Genetics Resources ◽

10.1007/s12686-010-9241-2 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 219-221 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

F. J. García de León ◽

R. Valles-Jimenez ◽

K. Shaw ◽

R. Ward ◽

J. A. de Anda Montañez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microsatellite Loci ◽

Gulf Of California ◽

Totoaba Macdonaldi

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Possible causes related to historic stock depletion of the totoaba, Totoaba macdonaldi (Perciformes: Sciaenidae), endemic to the Gulf of California

Fisheries Research ◽

10.1016/j.fishres.2007.05.010 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 86 (2-3) ◽

pp. 136-142 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Diego Lercari ◽

Ernesto A. Chávez

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of California ◽

Stock Depletion ◽

Totoaba Macdonaldi

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First record of vertical movements of the totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) as evidenced by pop-up satellite tags in the Upper Gulf of California

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315419001188 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 100 (1) ◽

pp. 143-151

Author(s):

Cristina Hernández-Tlapale ◽

Juan Antonio De-Anda-Montañez ◽

Armando Trasviña-Castro ◽

Fausto Valenzuela-Quiñonez ◽

James T. Ketchum ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of California ◽

Habitat Preferences ◽

Linear Displacement ◽

Early Summer ◽

Past Century ◽

Depth Range ◽

Vertical Movements ◽

Preferred Temperature ◽

Fishery Resource ◽

Totoaba Macdonaldi

AbstractThe description of the movements and habitat preference of marine fishes is essential to understand their biology and in the evaluation of commercially exploited species and the conservation of endangered ones. In this regard, little is known about the movements of the totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi), despite its being listed as critically endangered and having been a relevant fishery resource in the past century in Mexico. Totoaba is a fish species endemic to the Gulf of California characterized by late maturation, prolonged life and annual reproduction. Totoaba has maintained its known historical distribution range, although its movements and habitat occupancy in the water column have remained poorly understood. The present study describes, for the first time and at a daily fine scale, the vertical movements and habitat preferences of the totoaba in the Upper Gulf of California. Pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) were used to record depth and temperature at 4-minute intervals. Ten individuals were caught and tagged in May 2016 in the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve. All PSATs were either prematurely released or lost. Data derived from two recovered tags that saved data for 43 and 75 tracking days, respectively, were analysed. The results showed that tagged fishes moved southward to the vicinity of Angel de la Guarda Island; these are consistent with spatial displacement patterns reported in the literature, with a linear displacement of 223 km from deployment to pop-up sites. Fish spent 47% of the time within a depth range of 25–35 m. Depth increased to 70 m for one fish in early summer (late June). The preferred temperature of fishes ranged between 21–23°C. A generalized linear model revealed that vertical movement was influenced by temperature. The vertical displacement of the totoaba shows a diurnal variation that may be associated with the distribution of its prey. Further work is needed to test this hypothesis with a larger number of organisms.

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Temporal variation in oxidative stress indicators in liver of totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) Perciformes: Sciaenidae

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315416001909 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 98 (4) ◽

pp. 833-844 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sandra Berenice Hernández-Aguilar ◽

Tania Zenteno-Savin ◽

Juan Antonio De-Anda-Montañez ◽

Lia Celina Méndez-Rodríguez

Keyword(s):

Oxidative Stress ◽

Gulf Of California ◽

Linear Models ◽

Glutathione S Transferase ◽

Stress Indicators ◽

Sea Temperature ◽

Predictive Variables ◽

Totoaba Macdonaldi ◽

Stress Oxidative ◽

Oxidative Stress Indicators

Several characteristics of Totoaba macdonaldi Perciformes: Sciaenidae, including migratory movements along temperature gradients make it vulnerable to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can also be associated with reproduction. The objectives of the present study were to examine oxidative stress indicators in liver of totoaba throughout the seasons (spring, autumn and winter), and the associated fluctuations in superficial sea temperature (SST, °C), as well as to evaluate possible variations between sexes and reproductive maturity stages. A total of 173 liver samples from totoaba captured in the Gulf of California, Mexico, were obtained from April 2010 to February 2013. Superoxide radical production (O2•−), lipid peroxidation (TBARS) levels, and activity of antioxidant enzymes; superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were quantified spectrophotometrically. Generalized linear models (GLM) were used to determine which factors contribute to explain O2•− production and TBARS levels. The significant predictive variables were the seasons, which were significant in all applied models, as well as SOD and CAT activities. In general, enzyme activity was higher in immature totoaba; this was not seasonally modified. Low temperatures in winter were associated with high O2•− production and TBARS levels, particularly in totoaba that are not yet reproductively mature. Seasonal changes in sea surface temperature did not affect the oxidative stress indicators in mature totoaba (both males and females); this suggests that mature totoaba are less sensitive to temperature changes from an oxidative stress perspective.

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Vaquita: beleaguered porpoise of the Gulf of California, México

Therya ◽

10.12933/therya-21-1109 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 187-206

Author(s):

Bernd Würsig ◽

Thomas A. Jefferson ◽

Gregory K. Silber ◽

Randall S. Wells

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of California ◽

Line Transect ◽

Human Consumption ◽

External Appearance ◽

Modern Times ◽

Additional Information ◽

Illegal Fishing ◽

Acoustic Arrays ◽

Totoaba Macdonaldi ◽

Occurrence Patterns

The vaquita (Phocoena sinus), an endemic porpoise of the Gulf of California, México, was first described scientifically in 1958, from three skulls. It is considered a sister taxon of an ancestor of the Southern Hemisphere Burmeister’s porpoise (P. spinipinnis) and spectacled porpoise (P. dioptrica), a case of antitropical distribution and speciation. Vaquita in modern times seem to have existed largely in waters 10 to 30 m deep of the very northern Gulf of California, and may have already existed in relatively low numbers by the 1950s and 1960s. The external appearance of the vaquita was not described until the late 1970s, and not until the 1980s and 1990s did additional information about ecology and biology emerge. Those studies and more recent shipboard and aerial visual line transect surveys, as well as stationary and boat-towed acoustic arrays, mapped occurrence patterns and approximate numbers in greater detail than before. The first credible estimates of abundance appeared in the 1990s, with numbers in the mid-hundreds and declining. While several reasons for the decline were originally postulated, mortality due to entanglement in nets has been established as the only known cause of decline, especially due to bycatch in large-mesh gillnets set for the endangered croaker fish totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi). This fish is prized in China for human consumption of its swim bladder, generally ground up for purported therapeutic purposes. An extensive, lucrative fishery for totoaba, now illegal for many decades, has existed since at least the 1920s, and has recently increased. Although there have been laudable attempts to stem or halt totoaba fishing, these have largely been unsuccessful, and as of this writing the vaquita is on the brink of extinction. However, rapid concentrated action against illegal fishing with gillnets may yet save the species, and hope (with attendant action) must be kept alive. This overview is followed by an appendix of a previously unpublished popular essay by K.S. Norris describing when, where, and how he first discovered the species, and subsequent early work relative to this newly-described porpoise.

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