Phocoena+Sinus

=Phocoena Sinus= ==

Animal Classification- Genus- Phocoena Species Name- P.Sinus Class- Mammalia Order- Cetacea Family- Phocoenidae

**Endangered species act –**
By 2009, by catch of vaquita (Phocoena sinus )in the Gulf of California, Mexico, has been reduced to a level that does not threaten the population, i.e. no more than one animal per year.

The vaquita is the smallest living cetacean, closely resembling the common porpoise. However, the pectoral fins of this species are longer, and the dorsal fin taller in proportion to the body length, than in other species of porpoise. Size-The vaquita may weigh up to 55 kg (120 lb) and females can reach up to 1.5 m (4.9'), males up to 1.4 m (4.6'). Color- In adults, the dorsal surface is dark gray, the sides are pale gray and the ventral surface is white with some long, light gray markings. This porpoise has a large dark ring around the eyes and dark patches on the lips that form a thin line from the mouth to the pectoral fins. In the newborn, the coloration is darker than in adults, particularly in the head and in the areas behind the eyes. There is a wide gray fringe of color that runs from the head to the dorsal flukes, passing through the dorsal and pectoral fins.
 * Physical Description-**

Major habitat type Tropical upwelling Biogeographic realm Neotropical Range States Baja California and Sonora States in Mexico Geographical Location Upper Gulf of California, Mexico Ecological Region Gulf of California The vaquita is known to occur only the northern gulf of California, mexico, mainly north of 30 40’N and west of 114 20’W Around 15 degrees Celsius in that area for temp. The salinity is around 33. A typical tide in an area of the pacific ocean ranges about 1.48
 * Habitat-**

The vaquita, a small porpoise endemic to Mexico's Gulf of California, is the world's smallest and most endangered small marine cetacean. With fewer than 150 left, high levels of entanglement in fishing gear threaten imminent extinction if current trends continue. Each year, anywhere between 40 and 80 vaquitas are killed in gillnets and trawl nets used in both artisanal and commercial fishing.
 * Population-**

The population of walruses is definitely showing a decrease. However there is a decent amount left; there is a decrease in the population.
 * Survial Trends-**

The vaquita, Phocoena sinus, feeds on teleost (bony) fishes and squid found near the surface of the water. The vaquita has a varied diet, comprising fish that live on or near the ocean bottom, squid and crustaceans. Like other cetaceans, the vaquita produces high-frequency clicks which are used in echolocation. This may be used to locate their prey, but several of the fish species it feeds on are known to produce sound and so it is possible that the vaquita locates them by following their sound, rather than by echolocating.
 * Feeding Behavior-**

There may be slight seasonal movements north (in winter ) and south (in summer) but there is little supporting data.
 * Migration-**

Phocoena sinus, is listed as Critically Endangered, and only several hundred remain. They often suffer from entanglement in fishing gear, particularly shrimp nets and gillnets set for sharks. An estimated 25-30 vaquitas drown each year as a result. Juveniles are particularly at-risk, which further threatens the sustainability of this species as the number of reproductive adults is reduced. They are also at-risk because of their similarity in size to a popular seabass like fish called totoabo. Although fishing for totoabo is illegal, it continues to heavily exploited, which threatens both vaquitas and totoabo.
 * Threats for endangerment-**

Most calving apparently occurs in the spring. Gestation is probably 10-11 months. Maximum observed life span was 21 years.
 * Reproduction-**

Banning gillnets and trawlers throughout the entire range of the vaquita is the single measure most likely to prevent the species' extinction, this move is likely to have profound political, cultural, social and economic implications in local communities. Public awareness and education programmes are therefore an essential component of any future conservation programme, as it is only with the cooperation of local communities that this species can be saved. Alternative sources of income should be developed for the local fishing communities in addition to the development of alternative fishing gear that won't harm the vaquita.
 * Solutions -**

Vaquita have never been hunted directly. Indeed their continued existence was only confirmed by a dedicated survey in 1985. However it is known that the Vaquita population is declining, and that this is due to animals becoming trapped in gillnets intended for capturing another species endemic to the Gulf, the totoaba. CIRVA, the Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita, concluded in 2000 that between 39 and 84 individuals are killed each year by such gillnets. The Vaquita is listed by the IUCN and the Convention on International Trade in the Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in the most critical category at risk of extinction. In order to try to prevent extinction, the Mexican government has created a nature reserve covering the upper part of the Gulf of California and the Colorado River delta. CIRVA is recommending that this reserve be extended southwards to cover the full known area of the Vaquita's range and that trawlers be completely banned from the reserve area. Even if the number of Vaquita killed by fisheries is reduced to zero, concerns remain amongst conservationists. Use of chlorinated pesticides, reduced flow of freshwater from the Colorado River due to irrigation, and depression due to inbreeding[4] may also have a detrimental effect.The Vaquita is one of the top 100 EDGE Species, meaning "Evolutionarily Distinct, Globally Endangered". Evolutionarily distinct animals have no close relatives and represent proportionally more of the tree of life than other species, meaning they are top priority for conservation campaigns. On October 28, 2008 Canada, Mexico, and the United States, under the jurisdiction of the NAFTA environmental organization, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, launched the "North American Conservation Action Plan (NACAP) for the Vaquita (Phocoena sinus)." The NACAP is a strategy to support Mexico’s efforts to recover the Vaquita, which is considered the world’s most-endangered marine mammal.
 * Conservation**

http://www.arkive.org/vaquita/phocoena-sinus/glossary-and-references.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaquita http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/vaquita/vaquita.html http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=361 http://www.edgeofexistence.org/mammals/species_info.php?id=78

Questions - What do they eat? Do they migrate? How big can they get?