SeaWorld San Diego and the San Diego Natural History Museum have collaborated with Florida Atlantic University researchers to scan the skeleton of the world’s most endangered marine animal, the vaquita, to aid conservation efforts.
The vaquita, which means “little cow” in Spanish, is the world’s smallest porpoise and lives within 1,500 square miles of the northern Gulf of California.
Since 1997, the vaquita population has decreased from about 600 to fewer than 10 animals. At this current rate, vaquitas are expected to become extinct imminently, according to a SeaWorld press release.
One step toward safeguarding their future lies in the digitization of the vaquita anatomy.
The team used high resolution micro-CT scanning in the FAU High School Owls Imaging Lab to scan one of the only full vaquita skeletons available in the U.S. The rare skeleton was on loan from the Natural History Museum.
The full scan was intended to open the gates for circulation of commercially available replicas, which can be used for further education and conservation efforts.
The vaquita’s decline is caused by entanglement in illegal gillnets used to fish totoaba, an endangered species prized for its swim bladder. Despite a gillnet ban and other efforts, the illegal totoaba trade continues due to organized crime and poaching.
Conservation efforts include global awareness campaigns, removing gillnets, monitoring vaquitas and combating poaching, but attempts by other organizations to protect vaquitas in captivity have been unsuccessful.
Brittany Aja Dolan, a pathology and research associate at SeaWorld, spearheaded the scanning project.
“The imminent extinction of the vaquita is a sobering reminder of the impact that humans can have on the wildlife and environment,” said Dolan. “According to genetic studies there is hope for their successful recovery, and through this unique multifaceted collaboration, we have immortalized a one-of-a-kind skeleton.”
Initial CT scans of the vaquita were completed by the San Diego Zoo but their resolution was not sufficient for replication. Dolan contacted Jamie Knaub, an imaging lab assistant and Ph.D. candidate at FAU, about employing FAU’s micro-CT scanner to obtain high resolution scans of the skeleton.
“At the rate that vaquitas are disappearing, it’s extremely important to preserve as much about this species as we can,” said Knaub. “They are very elusive and not many physical specimens from this species exist.”
The 3D scans of this vaquita skeleton will be hosted on MorphoSource, a publicly accessible data archive. The scans will be available for download and used for education, outreach and research purposes.
SeaWorld San Diego will work with Bone Clones to produce full replicas of the vaquita skeleton for education.
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