Vaquita eDNA project
Development, optimization and validation of qPCR and ddPCR assays to detect the vaquita (Phocoena sinus), the world’s most endangered marine mammal, in environmental DNA samples from the Zero Tolerance Area of the Upper Gulf of California.
- 2025–present: “Vaquita eDNA Project: A Validated eDNA Workflow for Vaquita Monitoring” — principal investigator, funded by Dolphin Quest, with Dr. Barbara Taylor as co-PI. An international consortium with UNDP, CONANP, Pronatura Noroeste, Cetacean Action Treasury and CIBNOR to establish a validated eDNA workflow for vaquita monitoring, including a citizen-science component with the Upper Gulf of California Biosphere Reserve.
- Community training (2026): as part of the Dolphin Quest project, eDNA sampling and processing courses for 12 people: San Felipe residents, members of Pesca ABC, and staff from CONANP and the Mexican Navy. Participants received an Environmental DNA Manual and filtration equipment.
- 2024–present: “Operation Esperanza” / Vaquita eDNA Project (National Marine Mammal Foundation / NIWC Pacific) — eDNA component lead: molecular assays, sampling optimization and final report.
- 2024–present: development of species-specific markers during my postdoctoral position at CIBNOR.
- 2021–2022: “Pilot project to test the feasibility of detecting vaquitas using environmental DNA” (Cetacean Action Treasury; SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund). We detected vaquita DNA at 5 of the 10 sites sampled in the Zero Tolerance Area; two of them also had acoustic detections. Final report (Towns and Valdivia-Carrillo, 2023).
Dolphin Quest project funder and partners:
In the media: Bento Bio · Excélsior 2026 · Excélsior 2024 · Mongabay · YouTube