Urban green spaces in arid environments can serve as biodiversity reservoirs, yet their ecological contributions remain underexplored. This study assessed avian diversity on the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo campus Unidad Regional Universitaria de Zonas Áridas (URUZA) in the Chihuahuan Desert, northern Mexico. From February 2022 to April 2025, bird surveys were collected through point transects and photographic records. The species were categorized by seasonality status, trophic guild, and conservation status according to the IUCN Red List and Mexican NOM-059. The Shannon, Margalef, Jaccard, and Bray–Curtis Indices were used to analyze diversity. Statistical analysis was undertaken with log-linear models to evaluate spatial and functional patterns. A total of 90 bird species, including protected and vulnerable species, were identified, belonging to 16 orders and 35 families. The areas with the greatest diversity of vegetation and water bodies also presented the greatest diversity and richness of bird species. Resident birds dominated species richness and trophic structure, although migratory birds contributed to functional heterogeneity. Significant differences were observed between seasonality and trophic guilds. This study demonstrates that the campus contributes to sustainability by preserving biodiversity in arid land, educating the community about the importance of conservation, and laying the groundwork for more informed and sustainable environmental and economic management.

Artificial wetlands are a critical replacement habitat for waterbirds in arid regions, but little is known about how elevation and seasonality jointly structure these communities. The objective of this study was to assess the combined effects of elevation, seasonality, and agricultural disturbance on the richness, diversity, and composition of waterbird communities in artificial wetlands. We surveyed 36 permanent artificial wetlands across three elevational strata (low, intermediate, and high) in Poanas, Durango, Mexico, using variable-radius point counts over a complete annual cycle, and assessed richness, alpha diversity, beta diversity, indicator species, and their relationship with environmental variables. Estimated richness (Chao 1, Jackknife 1) and alpha diversity (Simpson, Shannon; Kruskal–Wallis H = 7.63, p = 0.022) decreased significantly in the high stratum relative to the low and intermediate strata, with no differences between the latter two. Beta diversity showed a similar pattern: the high stratum was significantly distinct from the other two (Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance, F = 3.225, p = 0.001). Canonical Correspondence Analysis revealed that community composition was more strongly associated with cropland areas (r = 0.6) than with elevation (r = −0.33). Seasonally, abundance was higher in winter, associated with migratory species; a two-way PERMANOVA confirmed that elevation and seasonality had comparable and largely independent effects on community composition (R² = 7.78% and 7.11%, respectively; both p < 0.001). These results indicate that elevation and seasonality act as complementary environmental filters and that surrounding agricultural management can be as determinant as topography for the conservation of waterbirds in artificial wetlands. These findings have direct implications for the design of conservation strategies in agropastoral landscapes and open new avenues of research on the relative role of anthropogenic disturbance versus topography in artificial wetland systems in arid regions.

Opuntia fortanelli is recognized here as a new synonym of O. decumbens based on molecular and morphological data, check of original literature, and examination of both plants in field and herbarium specimens. The phylogenetic hypothesis was performed with maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian Inference. A detailed micromorphology description of O. decumbens with additional taxonomic characters and photographs is provided.

The striped mullet (Mugil cephalus) and white mullet (Mugil curema) support artisanal fishing at the mouth of the Soto La Marina River, Gulf of Mexico, an area of great ecological value within the Laguna Madre and Rio Bravo Delta Protected Natural Area, the Terrestrial Priority Region RTP-83, and the Marine Priority Region RMP-44. Given the absence of historical catch and effort time series—a typical constraint of data-limited fisheries—a length-based frequency approach was used to estimate growth parameters, mortality rates, and the exploitation rate (E = F/Z). During 2018–2019, 1134 specimens of M. cephalus and 339 of M. curema were sampled. Due to sexual dimorphism in M. cephalus, analyses were performed separately for females, males, and combined sexes, while M. curema was analyzed with sexes combined. Growth (L∞, k) and mortality (Z, M, F) parameters for combined sexes were: M. cephalus (562 mm, 0.14 year⁻¹; 3.72, 0.21, 3.51 year⁻¹) and M. curema (329 mm, 0.15 year⁻¹; 1.46, 0.25, 1.21 year⁻¹). Exploitation rates (E) substantially exceeded Gulland (E = 0.5) and Patterson (E = 0.4) reference points: M. cephalus females (0.891), males (0.915), combined sexes (0.944), and M. curema (0.828). It is concluded that both stocks show strong evidence of growth overfishing, with exploitation rates well above established reference points, revealing a disconnect between the area’s conservation designations and the actual condition of the resource.

The striped mullet (Mugil cephalus) and white mullet (Mugil curema) support artisanal fishing at the mouth of the Soto La Marina River, Gulf of Mexico, an area of great ecological value within the Laguna Madre and Rio Bravo Delta Protected Natural Area, the Terrestrial Priority Region RTP-83, and the Marine Priority Region RMP-44. Given the absence of historical catch and effort time series—a typical constraint of data limited fisheries—a length based frequency approach was used to estimate growth parameters, mortality rates, and the exploitation rate (E = F/Z). During 2018–2019, 1,134 specimens of M. cephalus and 339 of M. curema were sampled. Due to sexual dimorphism in M. cephalus, analyses were performed separately for females, males, and combined sexes, while M. curema was analyzed with sexes combined. Growth (L∞, k) and mortality (Z, M, F) parameters for combined sexes were: M. cephalus (562 mm, 0.14 year⁻¹; 3.72, 0.21, 3.51 year⁻¹); M. curema (329 mm, 0.15 year⁻¹; 1.46, 0.25, 1.21 year⁻¹). Exploitation rates (E) substantially exceeded Gulland (E = 0.5) and Patterson (E = 0.4) reference points: M. cephalus females (0.891), males (0.915), combined sexes (0.944); M. curema (0.828). It is concluded that both stocks are experiencing severe overexploitation, revealing a disconnect between the area's conservation designations and the actual condition of the resource.

Small-scale fisheries management is a critical challenge for global fisheries sustainability. This study diagnoses the institutional failures behind overexploitation and regulatory non-compliance in Mexico’s shark-cazón fishery (predominantly Rhizoprionodon terraenovae). Using the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) Framework and Ostrom’s Social-Ecological Systems (SES) approach, we assessed the catch series (1976–2014) and institutional robustness. Results show a 77% surplus over the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY), with an average catch of 51,417 tonnes per year against a biological limit of 29,040 tonnes. The diagnosis reveals undefined access limits, exclusively state-run monitoring, sanctions provided for in law but not applied participatorily, and the absence of local conflict-resolution mechanisms. These findings suggest that overexploitation is not an inevitable biological failure but the outcome of a command-and-control design that inhibits collective action and erodes rule legitimacy. This study contributes to the common-pool resource governance literature by extending Ostrom’s framework and Hønneland’s compliance model to a previously underrepresented Latin American elasmobranch context. Based on this diagnosis, we recommend transitioning toward polycentric governance—with nested community monitoring, effectively enforced graduated sanctions, and local conflict-resolution mechanisms—as a strategy for improving regulatory compliance in data-limited fisheries.