The Pacific Seabird Group (PSG) is an international professional ornithological society based in the US, dedicated to the study and conservation of Pacific seabirds and their environment. The objectives of the Pacific Seabird Group are exclusively scientific, educational, conservational, and nonprofit. In furtherance of these objectives, PSG's principal activities are (1) to increase the amount and quality of scientific research on Pacific seabirds, (2) to educate PSG's members and the general public of the ecology and importance of Pacific seabirds and their environment, (3) to disseminate publications and other information to accomplish this end, and (4) to advocate for the conservation of Pacific seabirds wherever they occur.focusing on the behavior, ecology, and conservation of seabirds.

History

It was founded in 1972, by William R.P. Bourne, Ph.D., James G. King, James C. Bartonek, as an association of professional seabird researchers and managers. It aims to increase the quality and quantity of seabird research by facilitating information exchange, to assess threats to seabird populations, and to provide government agencies and others with expert advice on managing them.

Organization

The Pacific Seabird Group is governed by an Executive Council, which includes a student representative, and representatives from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, non-Pacific

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

states,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

, and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Membership on the Executive Council is decided by an annual election by the membership. Membership is open to "all persons interested in Pacific seabirds and/or their environment." There are Individual Members, Life Members, Honorary Members, Student Members, Corresponding Members, and Sponsored Members. Dues are paid annually. The PSG is a member of the

Ornithological Council The Ornithological Council is an association of ornithology, ornithological organisations based in the Americas involved in bird study and conservation. It was established by Richard C. Banks and incorporated in Washington, D.C. in 1992 as a non-pro ...

, the World Seabird Union, and the

American Bird Conservancy American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a non-profit membership organization with the mission of conserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. Its focus is on threats to birds in the Western Hemisphere – threats which include ov ...

Publications

''Pacific Seabirds'' is a biannual (spring and fall) publication with news and events of interest to the membership. It continues the ''Pacific Seabird Group Bulletin''. Since 2000, the PSG has published the

open-access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

''Marine Ornithology'' on behalf of a

consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...

of seabird groups from across the world. ''Marine Ornithology'' is published 2-3 times a year, and is the continuation of the African Seabird Group's journal ''Cormorant''.

Annual meeting

Since its inception, the PSG has hosted an annual meeting of members. In 2008, the first annual meeting outside North America was held in

Hakodate, Japan is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...

. The most recent meeting was held in

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

(USA) in February 2023. Dates, venues, and some abstracts of prior meetings can be found on the PSG website.

Awards

At each annual meeting, awards are presented for the best student oral and poster presentations. A Lifetime Achievement Award and Special Achievement Award may also be presented.

Advocacy

The PSG often comments on government proposals or legal actions concerning seabird

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

issues. In the past, it has written regarding

Marine Protected Areas Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conserv ...

in the western United States,

American white pelican The American white pelican (''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos'') is a large aquatic soaring bird from the order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Central America and South America, in winte ...

management plans, the eradication of introduced mammals from islands, and decisions on the listing of species in

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

legislation.

References

{{authority control Ornithological organizations Ornithology in the United States Seabirds Environmental organizations established in 1972 Scientific organizations established in 1972 1972 establishments in the United States