Protecting Baja Mexico's Marine Life: The Whale Shark Project

	July 15 - 31, 2010 4 semester units (equivalent to 6 quarter units) Meeting Place: San Diego, CA Program Fee: $1195               Fee Due:  May 15, 2010 Postponed due to US Dept of State Travel Warning Advisory

Team members will take part in an exciting, on-site ecological investigation of the whale sharks that spend their summer months in the waters near Bahia de los Angeles, Baja California, Mexico. This bay is situated in the Bahia de los Angeles biosphere reserve, which encompasses the nearshore and marine areas, including numerous islands, surrounding the large bay of the same name, approximately 400 miles south of the U.S. border. Remarkably, the bay is visited by approximately 20 to 30 whale sharks each summer, between late June and November, a seasonal phenomenon found almost nowhere else in the world. This pattern provides an unparalleled field site for the study and research on these phenomenal sea creatures. Additionally, the marine life here is rich and diverse, with many species of large and medium sized whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and seabirds year round. The neighboring desert has many key flora species, including the Cirio (Boojum) and giant cardon cactus, and adjacent to the bay is a large mountain range with a variety of environments along an altitudinal gradient from sea level to almost 6,000 feet.

THE PROJECT

Whale sharks are the largest fish in the world, but their unpredictable occurrence in most places, wide ranging movements, and large size make them difficult to study. Consequently there is little known about them. The Bahia de los Angeles biosphere reserve is the only site in the world where whale sharks dependably arrive in large numbers every summer. Local researchers, including the Mexican federal agency responsible for the biosphere reserve (CONANP), have an ongoing program to study whale shark biology and to develop regulations for their protection in the reserve. Team members in our project will have the unique opportunity to assist these researchers in their important fieldwork and whale shark conservation efforts.

Course participants will be part of an intensive fieldstudy on Bahia de Los Angeles learning techniques to effectively locate and interact with whale sharks from small boats, to photograph them for individual identification, and to conduct studies on their movements and feeding behavior. Aspects of whale shark biology will be explored through reading and discussions; and, importantly, conservation measures that are being adopted for the reserve will be examined in light of the findings of our research. Research contributors will include the principal Mexican researcher on the project, and government scientists from the Mexican federal agency that manages the biosphere reserve. We will also take some time to study the diverse flora and fauna of the surrounding marine waters, islands, and desert near the bay. By the end of the project each of us will have gained first hand experience conducting onsite field studies of the magnificent Whale Shark, and be able to serve as knowledgeable stewards for their continued protection in the Sea of Cortez.

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PROJECT LEADER

STEPHEN SHANER is an ecologist and marine biologist who has worked on a wide variety of projects around the world as an environmental consultant. He is currently an extension instructor in Marine Biology for the University of California. He has spent over 30 years traveling and exploring throughout the Baja California peninsula.