Sean Boyd's doctoral thesis investigated the interaction between Lesser Snow Geese and bulrush on the Fraser and Skagit River deltas. He documented the abundance and distribution patterns of geese within and across years, the growth ecology of bulrush within and across years, and the long-term interaction between the grubbing impact of the geese and the re-growth potential of bulrush. He worked as a habitat biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment Canada from 1980-83. From 1983 to the present, he has worked with a number of colleagues and students on a variety of migratory bird projects: eg., winter ecology and demographics of Snow Geese, winter and migration ecology of Brant Geese, abundance and distribution of Trumpeter Swans, population demographics and behavior of Harlequin Ducks, habitat interactions and natal return rates of Barrow‰s Goldeneye and Bufflehead, distribution and demographics of moulting Surf Scoters, migration ecology and abundance of Eared Grebes, nesting habitat requirements of Marbled Murrelets, and at-sea foraging distributions of Cassin‰s Auklets. Many of his projects are long-term in nature and involve the use and refinement of marking protocols, especially radio-telemetry. The research is necessarily multidisciplinary and international in-scope. The objective is to provide scientific advice necessary to conserve migratory bird populations and their habitats in Canada, the U.S.A., and Mexico. He became a Research Scientist in 1997 and an Adjunct Professor in the Biology Dept. of Simon Fraser University in 1998. He serves on advisory committees of graduate students affiliated with the Canadian Wildlife Service Chair of Wildlife Ecology at Simon Fraser University and, to date, has been an active member of three PhD and six MSc graduate student committees. 

Scientific Journals

Robertson, G.J., F. Cooke, R.I. Goudie, and W.S. Boyd. 1997.Molt and the basic plumage of Harlequin Ducks. Condor 99:93-90.

Robertson, G.J., F. Cooke, R.I. Goudie, and W.S. Boyd. 1997.The timing of arrival and pair formation in Harlequin Ducks Histrionicus histrionicus. Wildfowl 48:147-155.

Robertson, G.J., F. Cooke, R.I. Goudie, and W.S. Boyd. 1997. The timing of pair formation in Harlequin Ducks. Condor 100:551-555.

Robertson, G.J., F. Cooke, R.I. Goudie, and W.S. Boyd. 1997.Estimating temporary emigration rates with supplementary information: an example with Harlequin Ducks. Ring 19: 1-2: 169-178.

Robertson, G.J., F. Cooke, R.I. Goudie, and W.S. Boyd. 1998.Moult speed predicts pairing success in male Harlequin Ducks. Animal Behaviour 55: 1677-1684.

Boyd, W.S. and J.R. Jehl, Jr. 1998.Estimating the abundance of Eared Grebes on Mono Lake, California, by aerial photography. Colonial Waterbirds 21(2): 236-241.  

Dawe, N. K., G. E. Bradfield, W. S. Boyd, D. E. C. Trethewey, and A. N. Zolbrod. 2000. Marsh creation in a northern Pacific estuary: Is thirteen years of monitoring vegetation dynamics enough? Conservation Ecology 4(2): 12. [online] URL: http://www.consecol.org/vol4/iss2/art12/

Smith, C.M., F. Cooke, G.J. Robertson, R.I. Goudie, and W.S. Boyd. 2000. Long-term pair bonds in Harlequin Ducks. Condor 102: 201-205. 

Cooke, F., G.J. Robertson, C.M. Smith, R.I. Goudie, and W.S. Boyd. 2000. Survival, emigration and winter population structure of Harlequin Ducks. Condor 102: 137-144. 

Boyd, W.S., S.D. Schneider, and S.A. Cullen. 2000. Using radio telemetry to describe the fall migration of Eared Grebes. Journal of Field Ornithology 71(4): 702-707.

Boyd, W.S. and F. Cooke. 2000. Changes in the wintering distribution of Wrangel Island Snow Geese. Wildflowl 51: 59-66.

Boyd, W.S. 2000. A comparison of photo counts versus visual estimates for determining the size of Snow Goose flocks. Journal of Field Ornithology 71(4): 686-690.

Hull, C.L., G.W. Kaiser, C. Lougheed, L. Lougheed, S. Boyd and F. Cooke. 2001. Intra-specific variation in commuting distance of Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus): ecological and energetic consequences of nesting further inland. Auk 118: 1036-1046.

Evans, M.R., D.B. Lank, W.S. Boyd and F. Cooke. 2002. A comparison of the characteristics and fate of Barrow's Goldeneye and Bufflehead nests in nest boxes and natural cavities. Condor 104: 610-619.

Lougheed, C., L.W. Lougheed, F. Cooke and S. Boyd. 2002. Local survival of adult and juvenile Marbled Murrelets and their importance for estimating reproductive success. Condor 104: 309-318.

Torres, R., F. Cooke, G.J. Robertson and W.S. Boyd. 2002. Pairing decisions in the Harlequin Duck: costs and benefits. Waterbirds 25: 340-347.

Iverson, S.A., D. Esler and W.S. Boyd. 2003. Plumage characteristics as an indicator of age class in the Surf Scoter. Waterbirds 26: 56-61.

Bradley, R.W., F. Cooke, L.W. Lougheed and W.S. Boyd. 2004. Inferring breeding success through radio telemetry in the Marbled Murrelet. J. Wildl. Manage. 68: 318-331.

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.

Hobson, K.A., J.E. Thompson, M.R. Evans and S. Boyd. 2005. Tracing nutrient allocation to reproduction in Barrow's Goldeneye. J. Wildl. Manage. 69: 1221-1228.

Lacroix, D.L., W.S. Boyd, D. Esler, M. Kirk, T.L. Lewis and S. Lipovsky. 2005. Surf scoters aggregate in association with ephemerally abundant polychaetes. Marine Ornithol. 33: 61-63.

Lewis, T.L., D. Esler, W.S. Boyd and R. Zydelis. 2005. Nocturnal foraging behaviour of wintering surf scoters and white-winged scoters. Condor 107: 637-647.

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

Iverson, S.A., W.S. Boyd, D. Esler, D.M. Mulcahy and T.D. Bowman. In press. Comparison of the effects and performance of four radio transmitter types for use with scoters. Wildl. Soc. Bull.

Lewis, T.L., D. Esler and W.S. Boyd. In press. Effects of predation by sea ducks on clam abundance in soft-bottom intertidal habitats. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

Zydelis, R., D. Esler, W.S. Boyd, D. Lacroix and M. Kirk. In press. Habitat use by wintering surf and white-winged scoters: effects of environmental attributes and shellfish aquaculture. J. Wildl. Manage.

Departmental Reports

Drever, M.C., C. Lougheed, I..A. Manley, B.A. Vanderkist, W.D. Beauchamp, W.S. Boyd, G.W. Kaiser, L.W. Lougheed, and F. Cooke. 1998.Demography and ecology of Marbled Murrelets in Desolation Sound, British Columbia (1996). CWS/NSERC Wildlife Ecology Chair Technical Report No. 002. CWS/NSERC Wildlife Ecology Chair, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., 46 pp.

Lougheed, L.W., C. Lougheed, B.A. Vanderkist, S. Webster, R. Bradley, M. Drever, I.A. Manley, W.S. Boyd, G.W. Kaiser, and F.Cooke. 1998. Demography and ecology of Marbled Murrelets in Desolation Sound, British Columbia (1997). CWS/NSERC Wildlife Ecology Chair Technical Report No. 003. CWS/NSERC Wildlife Ecology Chair, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., 43 pp.

Armstrong, W.T., K.M. Meeres, R.H. Kerbes, W.S. Boyd, J.G. Silveira, J.P. Taylor, and B. Turner. 1999. Routes and timing of migration of Snow Geese from the Western Canadian Arctic and Wrangel Island, Russia, 1987 to 1992. In: Kerbes, R.H., K.M. Meeres, and J.E. Hines (eds). Distribution, survival and numbers of Lesser Snow Geese of the Western Canadian Arctic and Wrangel Island, Russia. Occasional Paper No. 98. Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario. pp.104-128.

Hines, J.E., V.V. Baranyuk, B. Turner, W.S. Boyd, J.G. Silveira, J.P. Taylor, S.J. Barry, K.M. Meeres, R.H. Kerbes, and W.T. Armstrong. 1999. Fall and winter distributions of Lesser Snow Geese from the Western Canadian Arctic and Wrangel Island, Russia, 1953 to 1992. In: Kerbes, R.H., K.M. Meeres, and J.E. Hines (eds). Distribution, survival and numbers of Lesser Snow Geese of the Western Canadian Arctic and Wrangel Island, Russia. Occasional Paper No. 98. Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario. pp.53-103.

Robertson, G.J., F. Cooke, R.I. Goudie, and W.S. Boyd. 1999.Within-year fidelity of Harlequin Ducks to a moulting and wintering area. Pp. 44-50 inR.I Goudie, M.R. Peterson, and G.J Robertson (eds.): Behaviour and ecology of sea ducks. Canadian Wildlife Service Occasional Paper No. 100.

Boyd, W.S., J.L. Ryder, S.G. Shisko, and D.F. Bertram. 2000. At-sea foraging distributions of Cassin's Auklets breeding at Triangle Island, B.C. in 1999. Technical Report Series No. 353. Canadian Wildlife Service, Pacific and Yukon Region. British Columbia. 26pp.

Ryder, J.L., W.S. Boyd, S.G. Shisko and D.F. Bertram. 2001. At-sea foraging distributions of radio-marked Cassin's Auklets breeding at Triangle Island, BC, 2000. Report to: Canadian Wildlife Service, Pacific and Yukon Region. Tech. Rep. No. 368.

McFarlane Tranquilla, L.M., J.L. Ryder, W.S. Boyd, S.G. Shisko, K. Amey, D.F. Bertram and J.M. Hipfner. 2005. Diurnal marine distributions of radio-tagged Cassin's Auklets and Rhinoceros Auklets breeding at Triangle Island, British Columbia. Report to: Canadian Wildlife Service. Technical Report Series No. 423.

Conference Proceedings:

Breault, S., S. Boyd, F. Cooke and J. Takekawa. 1995. Population models as tools for research cooperation and management: the Wrangel Island snow geese. Trans. 59th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conf., ed. 79-90 pp.

Robertson, G.J., F. Cooke, R.I. Goudie and W.S. Boyd. 1995. Within year fidelity of Harlequin Ducks to a moulting and wintering area. Proceedings of symposium on the ecology and behaviour of seaducks. Victoria. B.C. 13pp.

Smith, C.M., F. Cooke, G.J. Robertson, R.I. Goudie, and W.S. Boyd. 2000. Population dynamics of Harlequin Ducks in British Columbia and Alberta. In: Proceedings of species and habitats at risk conference, Min. Environment, Victoria, B.C.