Impact of changing climates- Endanger Species By: Samantha 9B

Facts  This little porpoise wasn't discovered until 1958  More than half of the population has been lost in the last three years.  The vaquita has a large dark ring around its eyes and dark patches on its lips that form a thin line from the mouth to the pectoral fins.  Vaquitas eat ocean fish such as Gulf croaker and bronze-striped grunts. They are also known to eat squid.  Fewer than 100 vaquitas may remain in the wild.  Is the smallest and rarest of the cetaceans - which include whales, dolphins, and porpoises.

Where do they live?

Environment/ Social structures Tropical upwelling Vaquitas are found in the open sea, and shallows areas less than 6 m deep at low tide, including sea bays and straits. The species is usually seen alone or in groups of 2 to 4 individuals

Predator  Vaquitas eat ocean fish such as Gulf croaker and bronze-striped grunts. They are also known to eat squid.

Why are they endangered?  The vaquita will be extinct, possibly by 2018, if fishery bycatch is not eliminated immediately. Nearly one out of every five vaquita get entangled and drown in gillnets intended for other marine species like the totoaba, a critically endangered fish also found in the upper Gulf of California. Entanglement in gillnets set for totoaba was the primary cause that brought the vaquita to low levels by the mid-1970s. Totoaba were overfished by the mid- 1970s and were listed as endangered by Mexico in 1975, and by the US in 1979.

Diversity  A range of different things  Diversity is important because otherwise there would be no food chain if we all had the same diet.

Prevention Based on expert recommendations, WWF calls on the Mexican government to strongly enforce a ban on gillnet fisheries throughout the entire range of the species starting in September We also ask that the US and China help stamp out the illegal trade in totoaba products and provide enforcement support to the Mexican government, without which Vaquitas will go the way of the dodo. WWF has helped study vaquitas and implement protective measures with the Mexican government and local partners. The prevention is starting to save Viquitas but more could be done.

Seed Bank  A seed bank (also seedbank or seeds bank) stores seeds as a source for planting in case seed reserves elsewhere are destroyed. It is a type of gene bank. The seeds stored may be food crops, or those of rare species to protect biodiversity. The reasons for storing seeds may be varied.  Its important because you can recreate and save habitats and ecosystems.