Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, S. C. (CIBNOR) has an ecological reserve and several biological collections, among them:

MAMMAL COLLECTION

Principal Researcher: Dr. Sergio Ticul Álvarez Castañeda

CIBNOR Mammal Collection shelters a great number of endemic specimens of the Gulf of California islands and the peninsula; almost 96% are rodents and bats, lagomorphs and carnivores follow in order of importance. Currently, this collection is one of the most important in the country, not only because of its geographical location and quality of the specimens,  but also because most of the specimens are unique with respect to other Mexican collections.

MARINE DINOFLAGELLATE COLLECTION

Principal Researcher: Dr. Lourdes Morquecho Escamilla

With the purpose of supporting the goals of international research agencies related with the study of harmful algal bloom (HAB)l, we submitted the project named "Toward the establishment of the first taxonomic and biological data bank of dinoflagellates in Mexico" to CONACyT. The main objective of this project was to establish the first live collection of marine dinoflagellates in Mexico. The results of this call were favorable to us and from October 2000 work toward establishing the marine dinoflagellate collection (CODIMAR) started in Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, S. C. (CIBNOR).

The main function of this collection is to provide dinoflagellate cultures to national and international scientific and academic communities to be used in research and in education.

HERBARIUM COLLECTION

Principal Researcher: Dr. José Luis León del la Luz

The Herbarium Collection currently goes above the 20,000 specimens (phanerogams, pteridophytes) whose data have been captured in an accessible data base for reference with geographical, ecological, and curatorial information.

The largest part of the collection corresponds to specimens of Baja California Sur, specifically from the areas of the Sierra de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve, Gulf of California Islands Reserve, Sierra de la Giganta, El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve, Sierra de Guadalupe, and San Francisco, and from the southern area of Cabo. It has an exchange program, which has allowed us to have a certain number of specimens from national institutions in Jalisco, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Sonora, and Baja California; and from international institutions in California and Arizona, U.S.A.

El Comitán Research and Ecological Reserve Area

Coordinator: Dr. José Luis León del la Luz

The piece of land called El Comitán belongs to and is the headquarters of Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, S. C.. It has 217 ha of which the Director's Office has considered 115 ha for research in general and for local biodiversity conservation to contribute to spreading knowledge of nature, as well as to be used for bachelor's, master's, and doctoral thesis writing.

El Comitán is located 12 km west of the city of La Paz, where the inlet of La Paz ends, thus making the adjacent sea seem more like a coastal lagoon. Its general geographic coordinates are 24° 06' N and 110° 26' W. The area is an alluvial plain known as El Valle del Carrizal-La Paz, characterized by deep sandy soil, with very low slopes, and separated by a large number of arroyos [dry washes] where rough water runs at the end of heavy rainfall.