New LSIESP Website Launched
We are pleased to announce the LAUNCH of our new program website. This new website features new links to social media (FaceBook, Twitter, email, etc.), interactive webpages, along with all of our previous research reports, Blog-Posts, Photographic-Identification catalogs, and other data since LSIESP began in 2006. We encourage you to “browse” around the website and discover the diversity of information that LSIESP has generated on the gray whales and marine wildlife of Laguna San Ignacio, including our community outreach and education activities.
Our website will continue to evolve and grow in the coming months, so “click” on “Contact us” at the top of this page to use the email link and send us your comments and suggestions for improving this website.
2015 Reports Available
With the launch of the new website we are featuring the release of our field research and activity report for 2015,along with links to additional reports and presentation by LSIESP researchers in 2015 – just click on the links below to view these informative documents.
The 2015 winter at Laguna San Ignacio and Bahia Magdalena was unusual in several ways. First, the water temperature ranged from 19°C to 21°C compared to 13°C to 18°C in the previous winters and mean 18°C in BM to 2012-2013 and 21°C for 2015 (higher by 3°C this year). This warm water was accompanied by frequent dense fog over the lagoon and thunder storms lasting up to three days that brought significant rainfall to the area. The normal prevailing North and West winds were less frequent and less severe than in previous years. Large schools of sardines and other bait fish were abundant in the lagoon, and these attracted large flocks of marine birds including pelicans, cormorants, several species of gulls, surf scoters, and terns. Species associated with warmer water, such as Brown Boobies and Jeagers, which are not frequently seen were also present in 2015.
Overall the numbers of gray whales residing in Laguna San Ignacio were similar to those seen during the past four winters, except for an unexpected large number of female-calf pairs that resided in the lagoon from mid-January to mid-February. Counts of these whales exceeded the high counts observed during the 1980’s. In contrast, the lowest numbers of gray whales since 2012 were counted in Bahia Magdalena, suggesting a decline in the use of that area by gray whales in 2015. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni) were observed near of the entrance of Bahia Magdalena in 2015 for the first time.