Jaime Luévano

Population demise and extinction threat of the Angel de la Guarda deer mouse (Peromyscus guardia)

We analyze the status of the Angel de la Guarda deer mouse (Peromyscus guardia), a species endemic to Mexico, based on our own fieldwork, bibliographic records and information from colleagues. This species, with different subspecies on three islands and a population of an undetermined subspecies on a fourth, was apparently common until the mid-1960s. Currently the species is critically endangered, if not already extinct. One of the subspecies and the undetermined population are presumed extinct. Of the two other subspecies, one is at least in critical condition, and the other at least reduced. The demise of the species can be attributed to the introduction of domestic cats. The case of P. guardia is a good example of the vulnerability of other taxa of endemic rodents on islands in the Gulf of California. # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nota sobre los Pelecaniformes, Ciconiiformes, GallitosMarinos (Sterninae) y Rayadores (Rynchopinae) de laCosta Chica de Oaxaca, México

To study the coastal birds ofoaxaca’s Costa Chica, we visited this region in the fall of 1995 and the summer and fall of 1996. During these visits we focused on coastal lagoons and barrier beaches, although we also made two sea trips and visited sandy beaches. We gathered data on 10 species of Pelecaniformes, 14 species of Ciconiiformes, 6 species of terns and on black skimmers. Many of these species have not been well documented in the area we covered. We describe our findings. including data on breeding and general observations.

Plovers Breeding in the Highlands of Jalisco, Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, Central México

ABSTRACT. From April to July 2008, we surveyed for breeding plovers at 32 sites in the semiarid highlands of Jalisco, Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, in the Central Mexican High Plateau. We documented evidence or presumption of breeding Snowy Plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus) at 3 sites, Killdeer (C. vociferus) at 15 sites, and Mountain Plovers (C. montanus) at 1 site Our surveys showed that the region is important breeding ground for only the Killdeer. We documented an apparent breeding range extension of the Mountain Plover to slightly more than 200 km south of its previously known breeding range.

Half a century of changes in waterbird populations in a semiarid wetland system

Mexican inland wetlands in the arid and semiarid interior highlands historically held very large numbers of waterbirds. However, they have been deteriorated by agriculture, industrial and urban development, tourism and aquaculture, although the effects of this are known poorly. At the southern end of the Central Plateau of Mexico, the region of El Llano, in the states of Aguascalientes and Jalisco, is densely dotted with wetlands amidst an agricultural landscape. The wetlands that existed at the time of Spanish contact have disappeared or been modified, but many new ones have been created, including large and mid-size reservoirs, as well as small cattle watering tanks. The importance of this region for waterbirds was analyzed based on the data from the USFWS mid-winter Mexican waterfowl surveys, and surveys by ourselves in 1984–1985 and from 2010 to 2014. The data exhibited a peak in diving ducks in the late 1970s, which might reflect reservoir restoration and, or creation. Wetland water levels as well as their use by waterbirds was highly variable during the study period, and some sites that were important in 1984–1985 have silted and dried up. The major waterbird trend in the survey area has been a steady increase in the number of the threatened Mexican Duck since the late 1970s until 2010–2011, that might have been resulted from a reduction in its hunting and egg collecting, and, or improvement in nesting habitat, along with reservoir creation or restoration.

Status of the isolated, threatened Valle de la Trinidad round-tailed ground squirrel, Baja California, Mexico

Eric Mellink,1∗ Scott Tremor,2 Howard Thomas,2 Nadia Siordia,1,3 Jaime Luévano,1 and Sula Vanderplank1,4 1Departamento de Biologı́a de la Conservación, Centro de Investigación Cientı́fica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, B.C., Carretera Ensenada-Tijuana #3918, 22860 Ensenada, B.C., México 2San Diego Natural History Museum. P.O. Box 121390. San Diego, CA 92112 3Calle 20 de Noviembre #150. Sauzal de Rodrı́guez. 22760 Ensenada, B.C., México 4Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 1700 University Drive, Fort Worth TX 76107