Ecology and Conservation of North American Sea Ducks

Sea duck research and management is important for understanding marine bird ecology and conservation as well as the health of marine ecosystems. This book is a synthesis of all that has been learned about sea ducks, highlighting data gaps, and directing future research and conservation efforts. An edited volume prepared by leading experts in the field, it addresses specific issues by drawing on all available information on sea ducks (and other waterfowl and avian taxa where this contrast is informative).

Jean-Pierre L. Savard is a scientist emeritus with Environment Canada, Quebec, Canada. Dr. Savard earned his PhD from the University of British Columbia, where he conducted research on the territorial behavior, nesting success, and brood survival of Barrow’s Goldeneye, Common Goldeneye, and Bufflehead Ducks. He has published numerous papers focused on the biology and population dynamics of sea ducks including Common Eider, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, Long-Tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, and Red-Breasted Merganser.

Dirk V. Derksen is retired from the U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska, where he served as chief of migratory bird, terrestrial mammal, and genetics research over a 26-year period. Dr. Derksen earned his PhD from Iowa State University and conducted his dissertation research on Adelie penguins in Antarctica. He studied habitat ecology of waterbirds on the North Slope of Alaska and published a suite of papers detailing the freshwater and marine wetland and terrestrial areas important for Spectacled Eiders, King Eiders, and Long-Tailed Ducks.

Daniel Esler is a research wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska, where he leads ecological studies of nearshore marine systems along the Pacific Coast of North America. Dr. Esler examined the effects of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill on the demography of Harlequin Ducks during winter in Prince William Sound, Alaska, for his PhD at Oregon State University. He has published extensively on the biology of sea ducks including Steller’s Eider, Spectacled Eider, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, White-Winged Scoter, Black Scoter, and Barrow’s Goldeneye.

John M. Eadie is Dennis G. Raveling Professor in Waterfowl Biology and chair of the Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, California. Dr. Eadie earned his PhD in zoology at the University of British Columbia, where he researched the reproductive ecology and behavior of Barrow’s and Common Goldeneyes. His numerous publications cover a diversity of behavioral and ecological aspects of sea duck species including Steller’s Eider, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Bufflehead, Barrow’s Goldeneye, and Common Goldeneye.