W. Sean Boyd

Research Scientist - Migratory Bird Ecology
Environment and Climate Change Canada

Current research and/or projects

Contributing to Environment Canada’s mandate to ensure wildlife is conserved and protected

  • Interactions between sea ducks and Arctic geese and their habitats
  • Migration strategies of sea ducks and Arctic geese
  • Ecology and management of sea duck and Arctic goose populations
  • Capture and marking protocols and satellite telemetry for sea ducks
  • At-sea foraging distributions of seabirds on the British Columbia coast

Professional activities / interests

Member, Sea Duck Joint Venture Continental Technical Committee (North American Waterfowl Management Plan)

Member, Environment Canada's National Committee on Waterfowl and National Committee on Waterbirds

Conference organizer and co-chair, Ninth North American Arctic Goose Conference (Victoria, BC)

Co-supervisor of 3 Ph.D. and 13 M.Sc. students at Simon Fraser University and University of British Columbia

Education and awards

Ph.D. (Biology), Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, 1995

M.Sc. (Zoology), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, 1978

B.A. (Biology), Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, 1975

Key publications

Boyd, W.S., L. McFarlane Tranquilla, J.L. Ryder, S.G. Shisko, and D.F. Bertram. In press. Variation in marine distributions of Cassin’s Auklets Ptychoramphus aleuticus breeding at Triangle Island, British Columbia. Auk: Jan 2008.

Lewis, T.L., D. Esler, and W.S. Boyd. 2007. Effects of predation by sea ducks on clam abundance in soft-bottom intertidal habitats. Marine Ecology Progress Series 329:131-144. [DOIi: 10.3354/meps329131]

Kirk, M., D. Esler, and W.S. Boyd. 2007. Morphology and density of mussels on natural and aquaculture structure habitats: implications for sea duck predators. Marine Ecology Progress Series 346:179-187. [DOI: 10.3354/meps07046]

Iverson, S.A., W.S. Boyd, D. Esler, D.M. Mulcahy, and T.D. Bowman. 2006. Comparison of the effects and performance of four radio transmitter types for use with scoters. Wildlife Society Bulletin 34: 656-663.

Smith, B.D., W.S. Boyd, and M.R. Evans. 2005. A clutch and brood survival model that discriminates random and correlated mortality. Ecological Applications 15(1): 281-293.

Ganter, B., W.S. Boyd, V. Baranyuk, and F. Cooke. 2005. First pairing in Snow Geese Anser caerulescens: at what age and at what time of year does it occur? Ibis 147:57-66.

Contact

Research facility

Pacific Wildlife Research Centre
5421 Robertson Road
Delta, BC V4K 3Y3
Canada

Expertise

Environment›Arctic & Northern›Wildlife›Bird populations
Environment›Nature & Wildlife›Ecosystems & Habitats›Coastal habitats
Environment›Nature & Wildlife›Ecosystems & Habitats›Fraser River-Georgia Basin
Environment›Nature & Wildlife›Ecosystems & Habitats›Wetlands
Environment›Nature & Wildlife›Wildlife Populations›Migration
Environment›Nature & Wildlife›Wildlife Populations›Migratory birds
Environment›Nature & Wildlife›Wildlife Populations›Population tracking and analysis
Environment›Nature & Wildlife›Wildlife Populations›Satellite telemetry
Environment›Nature & Wildlife›Wildlife Populations›Waterbirds
Environment›Nature & Wildlife›Wildlife Populations›Waterfowl

Affiliations

Adjunct Professor, Centre for Wildlife Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University