Book Chapters

Adaptive management remains at the forefront of environmental management nearly 40 years after its original conception, largely because we have yet to develop other methodologies that offer the same promise. Despite the criticisms of adaptive management and the numerous failed attempts to implement it, adaptive management has yet to be replaced with a better alternative. The concept persists becau

The material in this volume reflects the burgeoning interest in sea ducks, both as study species with compelling and unique ecological attributes and as taxa of conservation concern. In this review, we provide perspective on the current state of sea duck knowledge by highlighting key findings in the preceding chapters that are of particular value for understanding or influencing population change.

Breeding, molting, fall and spring staging, and wintering habitats of the sea duck tribe Mergini are described based on geographic locations and distribution in North America, geomorphology, vegetation and soil types, and fresh water and marine characteristics. The dynamics of habitats are discussed in light of natural and anthropogenic events that shape areas important to sea ducks. Strategies fo

Many environments occupied by North American sea ducks are remote and difficult to access, and as a result, detailed information about life history characteristics that drive population dynamics within and across species is limited. Nevertheless, progress on this front during the past several decades has benefited by the application of genetic technologies, and for several species, these technolog

In this chapter, I explore population dynamics of sea ducks by developing population models. In determining which life history characteristics had the greatest influence on future population dynamics, adult female survival consistently had the highest sensitivity and elasticity and this result was robust across a wide range of life history parameter values. Conversely, retrospective models consist

Molt is a dynamic process occurring throughout much of the year in waterfowl. The molt of flight feathers by waterfowl, especially sea ducks, however, occurs over a compressed period of time and in spcific areas used each year. We provide an overview of the flight feather molt of sea ducks. We focus on the need to molt and why, the timing and duration of flight feather mot, and the duration birds

Migration exerts strong effects on population dynamics, so consideration of migration as a driver of population change is an important area of inquiry. Sea ducks (Mergini) exemplify the wide range in types of migration strategies, which become more variable with the addition of a third migration to distinct molting areas. We discuss the three migrations, summer, fall, and molt, and emphasize simil

Cryovolcanism is defined as the extrusion of liquids and vapors of materials that would be frozen solid at the planetary surface temperatures of the icy bodies of the outer solar system. Active cryovolcanism is now known to occur on Saturn's moon Enceladus and on Neptune's moon Triton and is suspected on Jupiter's moon Europa, while evidence for past cryovolcanic activity is widespread throughout

The way water flows to a lake, through streams, as runoff, or as groundwater, can control the distribution and mass of sediment and contaminants deposited. Whether a lake is large or small, deep or shallow, open or closed, the movement of water to a lake and the circulation patterns of water within a lake control how and where sediment and contaminants are deposited. Particle-associated contaminan

This book explores the myriad ways that environmental archives can be used to study the distribution and long-term trajectories of contaminants. The volume first focuses on reviews that examine the integrity of the historic record, including factors related to hydrology, post-depositional diffusion, and mixing processes. This is followed by a series of chapters dealing with the diverse archives av

Newly produced, as well as some so-called legacy contaminants, continue to be released into the environment at an accelerated rate. Given the general lack of integrated, direct monitoring programs, the use of natural archival records of contaminants will almost certainly continue to increase. We conclude this volume with a short chapter highlighting some of our final thoughts, with a focus on a ca

This chapter summarizes the application of various biological indicators to studying the anthropogenic and natural changes in water quality and habitats that have occurred in the coastal and estuarine areas of the Greater Everglades ecosystem.