Sea of Giants: Marine Life of the Baja Peninsula
Join researchers on an exciting adventure on the Baja Peninsula as you study large marine animals, including dolphins, humpback whales, and whale sharks. Your findings will help scientists understand the effects of climatic events, urbanization, and a growing marine ecotourism industry on these remarkable marine ecosystems.
The blue waters surrounding the Baja Peninsula are home to a rich diversity of marine life, most notably large marine animals, including dolphins, humpback whales, and whale sharks. But increasingly frequent extreme climatic events, such as marine heatwaves, are disrupting the marine environment and threatening these critical species. Marine heatwaves can cause a variety of issues, including toxic algae blooms, disruptions in the food chain, and mass mortality events. However, little data has been collected on the exact impacts these events can have on large marine animals. Furthermore, urban sprawl and the area’s growing marine ecotourism industry threaten to amplify the impacts of these climatic events if not well managed.
You’ll visit two stunning locations on the Baja Peninsula, La Paz Bay and Punta Lobos, to help researchers discover how climatic events, urbanization, and marine ecotourism are impacting the marine environment. You’ll work alongside Dr. Lenin Oviedo to monitor the populations and behavior of bottlenose dolphins and humpback whales through boat and land-based surveys. Understanding these species' foraging activities, respiration rates, population sizes, and reproductive success can reveal how and to what extent the environment is being disturbed.
You’ll also help investigate how closely tour operators adhere to current ecotourism regulations. You’ll join a whale shark tour operation and measure the boats’ proximity to whale shark aggregations, how whale sharks respond to the boat and tourists, and the conditions of the water. You may even have the opportunity to swim alongside whale sharks as you record their behavior and photograph the distinctive patterns around their dorsal fins to help identify individual sharks. The valuable data you collect will shed light on adherence to current regulations and the potential impact of these tours on whale shark behavior.
This project will provide researchers and policymakers with the baseline data needed to monitor the health of their coastal seascapes and develop management policies that ensure marine ecosystems remain healthy and sustainable for both wildlife and humans.
A Typical Itinerary
- DAY 1: Arrival, orientation
- DAY 2: Training on data collection techniques
- DAYS 3–4: Survey for dolphins and whale sharks in La Paz Bay, alternate boat and land-based activities
- DAYS 5–6: Survey for humpback whales in Punta Lobos, alternate boat and land-based activities
- DAY 7: Recreation day
- DAY 8: Final survey for dolphins and whale sharks in La Paz Bay, museum tour
- DAY 9: Departure
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HOW YOU WILL HELP
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Boat-based surveys
You’ll follow bottlenose dolphins, humpback whales, and whale sharks in a boat to record their behavior and capture photos for individual identification.
Land station observations
Volunteers will hike to land-based stations to observe the movements of dolphins, humpback whales, and whale sharks using binoculars. You will also help drone pilots to log data and environmental conditions as they collect aerial videos of these target species.
Data Analysis
Volunteers will help map animal spottings and process the pictures and videos captured in the field.
Field conditions and research needs can lead to changes in the itinerary and activities. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding.
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FEEDBACK & QUESTIONS
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