And for good reason, scientists estimate that there are only about ten left in the waters of the Gulf of California.

Faced with this observation, many believed that this animal could never recover.

In question, the forced consanguinity of future offspring.

But this theory is now contradicted by a new study, published Thursday in the prestigious journal Science.

Despite their low numbers, porpoises are not destined to disappear for genetic reasons, she assures.

At least on one condition: that the fishing practices responsible for their decline cease completely.

"We are trying to go against this idea that there is no hope, that there is nothing we can do to save them," author Jacqueline Robinson told AFP. principal of the study and researcher at the University of California, San Francisco.

The smallest porpoise in the world threatened with extinction Adrian LEUNG, John SAEKI, Gustavo IZUS, Nicolas RAMALLO AFP

The campaign for the survival of this species mobilizes in particular the actor Leonardo di Caprio, and has become a diplomatic issue, the United States putting pressure on Mexico.

Low genetic diversity

From the same family as the dolphins, these porpoises measure on average just over a meter only, which makes them the smallest species of cetaceans.

Called "vaquita marina" (little sea cow) in Mexico, the animal only lives in a very restricted area, in the northern Gulf of California.

In the 20th century, it was decimated by the large gillnets used to fish in particular a fish itself threatened, the totoaba, much sought after in certain countries.

Although the fishing of this fish has been declared illegal, the ban is not always respected.

Scientists hold a six-month-old Pacific porpoise calf in Mexico in 2017 as part of a species rescue program - Semarnat/AFP/Archives

However, porpoises get caught in these nets, causing their death.

At the time of their first census, in 1997, they were already only 570.

Today, the species is on the brink of extinction, and some felt their fate was now sealed, due to inevitable inbreeding.

To find out for sure, the researchers analyzed the genome of 20 porpoises, from samples taken between 1985 and 2017 (most of them from dead individuals) and preserved since.

This allowed them to determine that Pacific porpoises have always been a rare species, their population having never exceeded a few thousand over the past 250,000 years.

Their genetic diversity is therefore very low.

A result confirmed by comparing their genome to that of eleven other species (dolphins, killer whales, whales, etc.).

"In general, low genetic diversity is considered a bad thing. But in this case, it represents an advantage for the possibility of survival of Pacific porpoises", explained Jacqueline Robinson.

Stop the nets

To understand why, it is necessary to understand the mechanism that makes inbreeding problematic.

The reason is due to some type of harmful genetic mutation.

Having a single copy of this mutation in one's genetic code is not a problem.

On the other hand, inheriting two copies becomes problematic for the health of the individual.

However, inheriting two similar copies is more likely when two parents are from the same family.

But porpoises today have very few of these harmful mutations in their genetic code.

Why?

"Because their population has always been very small," explains the researcher.

"So these mutations have historically been knocked out much more efficiently than in large populations, where they can persist and remain immune to natural selection."

Photo released by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in February 1992 of a dead Pacific porpoise in the Gulf of Santa Clara, Mexico Omar Vidal WWF/AFP/Archives

Based on this observation, the researchers then carried out simulations in order to estimate the chances of survival of the Pacific porpoises.

If net fishing stops completely, then the risk of extinction of the species is only 6%.

But if fishing is only reduced, the risk of extinction increases drastically: even with an 80% reduction in fishing, porpoises have a 62% chance of extinction.

If it is therefore still possible to save them, there is an emergency, alert the researchers.

"If we lose them, it will be the result of human choices, not genetics," said study co-author Christopher Kyriazis of the University of California, Los Angeles, in a statement.

The scientists believe that their simulations could be applied to other rare species, such as tigers, the Florida panther, the Tasmanian devil... For which they also hope to bring some hope.

© 2022 AFP