A dataset of seasonal fluctuations of molluscan populations from the southern Gulf of California subtropical arid zone.

The dataset contains insights into the molluscan diversity associated with seagrass and seasonal dynamics in a subtropical arid zone in the southern Gulf of California. The dataset includes the number of species, taxonomy, seasonal abundance data, trophic composition, biomass of molluscan, and biomass of seagrass (). This dataset is referenced in the study titled: "Diversity and seasonal variation of the molluscan community associated with the seagrass in a marine protected area in the southern Gulf of California" (Pérez-Estrada et al.

Genotoxicity in American kestrels in an agricultural landscape in the Baja California peninsula, Mexico.

Raptors as top predators have been used as effective sentinels of environmental stressors in agricultural areas worldwide. Pollutants in agricultural areas have negative effects on top predator populations. Biomarkers such as erythrocyte nuclear abnormalities have been used as an effective measure of genotoxicity caused by exposure-particularly short-term exposure-to pollutants.

Islands in the desert for cavity-nesting bees and wasps: Ecology, patterns of diversity, and conservation at oases of Baja California Peninsula.

Aims: The oases of Baja California Peninsula (BCP) have been proposed as important hotspots of biodiversity that hold an exceptional richness in the middle of desert conditions. We tested the effect of habitat and anthropogenic disturbance on communities of cavity-nesting taxa, with specific emphasis on bees, wasps, and their natural enemies.

Methods: In oases of BCP and desert neighbor environments, trap-nesting taxa were evaluated in response to factors affecting the nest abundance, richness, and community structure.

Improving conservation strategies of raptors through landscape ecology analysis: The case of the endemic Cuban Black Hawk.

Raptor species conservation should consider a landscape perspective in order to include habitat requirements associated to large home ranges around nesting sites. Landscape analysis can help to better understand raptor habitat requirements and the degree of tolerance to habitat changes at different scales.We used a landscape ecology perspective to determine the nesting habitat selection of endemic and endangered Cuban Black Hawk, and using ecological niche modeling, we obtained the potential distribution of nests to evaluate the effectiveness of protected areas (PAs) for raptor conservation.

Disentangling the coexistence strategies of mud-daubing wasp species through trophic analysis in oases of Baja California peninsula.

Species within the same trophic level show different strategies to avoid competition. Among these mechanisms, differences in body size, spatio-temporal segregation, and diet preference often leads to a niche partitioning. Nonetheless, little attention on coexisting predatory insects and their network interactions has been paid.

Seagrass as a new habitat for the amphioxus (Cephalochordata, Branchiostomidae) in the southern Gulf of California, Mexico.

The first record of the amphioxus on seagrass patches of in the Gulf of California is reported. Sixty individuals (19 males, 18 females, and 23 undifferentiated) were collected in May 2017 at Bahía Balandra, Gulf of California, from subtidal seagrass patches at a depth of 0.5 m at low tide.

Rapid postglacial diversification and long-term stasis within the songbird genus Junco: phylogeographic and phylogenomic evidence.

Natural systems composed of closely related taxa that vary in the degree of phenotypic divergence and geographic isolation provide an opportunity to investigate the rate of phenotypic diversification and the relative roles of selection and drift in driving lineage formation. The genus Junco (Aves: Emberizidae) of North America includes parapatric northern forms that are markedly divergent in plumage pattern and colour, in contrast to geographically isolated southern populations in remote areas that show moderate phenotypic divergence. Here, we quantify patterns of phenotypic divergence in morphology and plumage colour and use mitochondrial DNA genes, a nuclear intron, and genomewide SNPs to reconstruct the demographic and evolutionary history of the genus to infer relative rates of evolutionary divergence among lineages.

Phylogeography of endemic Xantus' hummingbird (Hylocharis xantusii) shows a different history of vicariance in the Baja California Peninsula.

Studies of phylogeographic patterns provide insight into the processes driving lineage divergence in a particular region. To identify the processes that caused phylogeographic breaks, it is necessary to use historical information and a set of appropriate molecular data to explain current patterns. To understand the influence of geological or ecological processes on the phylogeography of the only species of hummingbird endemic to the Baja California Peninsula, Hylocharis xantusii, mitochondrial DNA sequences of three concatenated genes (Cyt-b, COI and ND2; 2297bp in total) in 100 individuals were analyzed.

Arsenic and lead contamination in soil and in feathers of three resident passerine species in a semi-arid mining region of the Mexican plateau.

The current study aimed at quantifying arsenic and lead in feathers from three passerine species that are residents from areas exposed to mining activities (Toxostoma curvirostre, Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus, and Melozone fusca). Lead and As contents in bird feathers and in superficial soil samples were measured with AAS. Levels of these metals were compared between sites exposed and unexposed to mining.

Isolation of 18 microsatellite loci in the desert mistletoe Phoradendron californicum (Santalaceae) via 454 pyrosequencing.

Premise Of The Study: Microsatellite primers were developed for the parasitic mistletoe Phoradendron californicum to investigate to what extent population genetic structure depends on host tree distribution within a highly fragmented landscape. •

Methods And Results: Fourteen unlinked polymorphic and four monomorphic nuclear microsatellite markers were developed using a genomic shotgun pyrosequencing method. A total of 187 alleles plus four monomorphic loci alleles were found in 98 individuals sampled in three populations from the Sonoran Desert in the Baja California peninsula (Mexico).

Incidence of organochlorine pesticides and the health condition of nestling ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) at Laguna San Ignacio, a pristine area of Baja California Sur, Mexico.

We identified and quantified organochlorine (OC) pesticide residues in the plasma of 28 osprey (Pandion haliaetus) nestlings from a dense population in Laguna San Ignacio, a pristine area of Baja California Sur, Mexico, during the 2001 breeding season. Sixteen OC pesticides were identified and quantified. α-, β-, δ- and γ-hexachlorocyclohexane, heptaclor, heptachlor epoxide, endosulfan I and II, endosulfan-sulfate, p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDD, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, endrin aldehyde, and endrin ketone were the OCs found in the plasma of nestlings, ranging from 0.

Quantification of low levels of organochlorine pesticides using small volumes (

A solid phase extraction and gas chromatography with negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry in scan mode (GC-NCI-MS) method was developed to identify and quantify for the first time low levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCs) in plasma samples of less than 100 microl from wild birds. The method detection limits ranged from 0.012 to 0.

Results and evaluation of the first study of organochlorine contaminants (PCDDs, PCDFs, PCBs and DDTs), heavy metals and metalloids in birds from Baja California, México.

Organochlorine compounds (OCs) including polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (p-p'-DDE), heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu), and arsenic were measured in house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and common ground doves (Columbina passerina) from Baja California Sur, México. Concentrations of PCDD/Fs were low, with 21 pg/g for house sparrows, and 7.7 pg/g for common ground doves.