To help accomplish the missions of the San Diego Natural History Museum and the Biodiversity Research Center of the Californias (BRCC), our scientists conduct biological expeditions and other field research on the Baja California peninsula. These expeditions involve scientists from various disciplines and foster collaboration between several institutions in the United States and Mexico. Expeditions also support the enhancement of the scientific collections of the participating institutions, conservation efforts, management of natural resources, and environmental education.
For two weeks in November 2018, 25 scientists and volunteers visited 15 different islands in the southern portion of the Gulf of California to gather information on the status of terrestrial biodiversity of these islands. They documented a remarkable number of new records for the islands: 114 new plant records, 2 new herpetological records, and at least a dozen entomological records. More.
The Revillagigedo Islands off the coast of Mexico are known for their unique ecosystem and are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In February 2017, a team of international scientists and associates, many from The Nat, spent 21 days on a voyage to these remote islands to document the wealth of terrestrial diversity and evaluate the conservation status of the plants and animals found there. More.
In November 2017, staff from The Nat worked with partners throughout the regions to conduct a binational multidisciplinary survey of an area known locally as Los Brasileros. This project was a hybrid of recent intensive survey work in the Sierra Cacachilas and a rapid biodiversity survey. More.
In late October 2013, more than 30 researchers, students, and volunteers converged on this small mountain range near La Paz for a binational, multidisciplinary expedition. The expedition team traveled by foot and mule to reach the interior high elevations of the rugged Cacachilas Mountains. Historical collections from the heart of the mountains are very rare, making it a “black hole” of biodiversity information. More.
Scientists from the Museum's Biodiversity Research Center of the Californias embarked on this expedition to Isla Guadalupe, off the coast of Baja California, on June 3, 2000. The major purpose of this project was to survey and assess the status of the island's flora and fauna, which have been severely disturbed by introduced non-native goats, dogs, cats, and rodents. More.
This binational, multidisciplinary expedition explored the southern end of the Sierra de La Giganta between Agua Verde and Punta Mechudo. For 21 days, beginning November 5, 2003, approximately 30 scientists from Mexico and the United States conducted fieldwork near Mission Los Dolores and further south at San Evaristo. More.
This was the first major multidisciplinary expedition that the Museum sponsored since the 1960s. The focus of this expedition was two mountain ranges, the Sierra San Francisco and the Sierra Guadalupe, located in northern Baja California Sur on the eastern edge of the Vizcaino Desert. The small amount of scientific documentation previous to this expedition indicated that a biological mosaic of species from both tropical and temperate climates existed in this area. More.