P. Dee Boersma

P. Dee Boersma, also known as Dee Boersma (born 1946) is a conservation biologist and professor at the University of Washington, where she is Wadsworth Endowed Chair in Conservation Science.[1] Dr. Boersma's area of work focuses on seabirds, specifically Magellanic penguins. She has directed the Magellanic Penguin Project at Punta Tombo, Argentina since 1982.[2] She is the founder of the Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, hosted at the University of Washington, and dedicated to the study of sential species as early warning systems of natural or human caused environmental change.[3]

P. Dee Boersma
Born1946
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCentral Michigan University
Ohio State University
Scientific career
FieldsConservation biology
InstitutionsUniversity of Washington
ThesisThe Galapagos Penguin: A Study of Adaptations for Life in an Unpredictable Environment.

Early Life and Education

She grew up in Michigan.[4] She graduated from Central Michigan University in 1969 and later completed her Ph.D. in Zoology from Ohio State University in 1974. Her dissertation was on Galapagos penguins and titled "The Galapagos Penguin: A Study of Adaptations for Life in an Unpredictable Environment."[5]

Career

Boersma began teaching at the University of Washington in 1974.

Over multiple decades, her career has focused on protecting penguins from oil spills, habitat loss, and road construction plans that would disrupt nesting sites.[6]

Boersma and a team of researchers banded more than 44,300 Magellanic penguin chicks at Punta Tombo from 1983 to 2010, finding 3,296 of those chicks made it back to the breeding colony where they were born. Overall, they found that fewer female penguins survived.[7][8] Her research in Argentina has demonstrated climate-induced change that forced penguins to swim about 25 miles farther each day in search of food, which reduced their chance of survival.

In 1983, she began finding penguins dead on the beaches covered in oil, which caused her and her team to bring the evidence to the attention of the government's and ultimately led to tanker lanes being shifted further offshore.[9] This shift protected the penguins from the effects of commercial petroleum dumping in the ocean.[10]

She has received multiple awards for teaching and her contributions to science, including a Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Conservation Biology in 2006 and the 15th Heinz Environmental Award.[11][12] She is the author of Penguins: Natural History and Conservation and Invasive Species in the Pacific Northwest.[13][14]

References
  1. "Boersma, P. Dee". University of Washington. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved Feb 6, 2014.
  2. "P. Dee Boersma, PhD". Pew Charitable Trust. Retrieved Feb 6, 2014.
  3. "Our Team". Center for Ecosystem Sentinels. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  4. "P. Dee Boersma travels to tip of Argentina to protect world's largest Magellanic penguin colony". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  5. Boersma, P. Dee (1974). "The Galapagos Penguin: a study of adaptations for life in an unpredictable environment". Ph.D. Dissertation. Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
  6. "P. Dee Boersma travels to tip of Argentina to protect world's largest Magellanic penguin colony". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  7. "At Punta Tombo, male Magellanic penguins compete for mates". Earth.com. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  8. Gownaris, N. J.; Boersma, P. D. (2019). "Sex-biased survival contributes to population decline in a long-lived seabird, the Magellanic Penguin". Ecological Applications. 29 (1): e01826. doi:10.1002/eap.1826. ISSN 1939-5582. PMID 30601594.
  9. "Life Improved for Penguins in Argentina". birdnote.org. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  10. Dreifus, Claudia (2009-03-30). "A Census Taker for Penguins in Argentina". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  11. "The Heinz Awards :: P. Dee Boersma". www.heinzawards.net. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  12. "Dr. Dee Boersma". Center for Ecosystem Sentinels. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  13. Borboroglu, Pablo Garcia; Dee Boersma, P. (2015-10-05). Penguins : natural history and conservation. Borboroglu, Pablo Garcia., Boersma, P. Dee, 1946-. Seattle. ISBN 0295999063. OCLC 925292671.
  14. Invasive species in the Pacific Northwest. Boersma, P. Dee, 1946-, Reichard, Sarah H., Van Buren, A. N. (Amy Noel). Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 2006. ISBN 9780295985961. OCLC 65207032.CS1 maint: others (link)
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