Congratulations to the 2024 Student Fellowship Awardees! Learn more about the students who will move sea duck conservation forward with their work
Now in its second year, the fellowship program was created with the goal of increasing the number of skilled early career professionals interested in sea duck conservation. Student projects may cover any aspects of sea duck management, conservation, and science, and this year’s group is doing so while employing new and innovative ideas all across North America. We can’t wait to see what they discover!
Student Fellowship Feature: Tori Mezebish Quinn, Understanding the threats to sea ducks and diving ducks in New England
Tori Mezebish Quinn is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Rhode Island, where she studies waterfowl in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. An SDJV Student Fellowship Awardee, Tori is studying how environmental and anthropogenic factors affect sea ducks and diving ducks in southern New England.
Data and Ducks: Developing and compiling transboundary avian data for sea ducks in the Salish Sea
In 2020, a Birds Canada paper detailing 20 years of sea duck population trends in the Salish Sea revealed some unsettling news – many species were currently or had been experiencing population declines. Between 1999 and 2019, White-winged scoters experienced a 4.3% population decline per year, while Black scoters experienced a 15% decline per year, and Long-tailed Ducks a 5% decline per year in the same period. The challenges of understanding and addressing these dramatic population decreases were compounded by a lack of cross-border baseline data on many of the species, making it hard to truly assess the causes and timing of the declines.