The Sea Duck Joint Venture (SDJV) is a conservation

Conservation movement

The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....

 partnership established in 1998 whose mission is "promoting the conservation of North America’s Sea Ducks". The partners are the Canadian Wildlife Service

Canadian Wildlife Service

The Canadian Wildlife Service or CWS is a branch of the Department of the Environment, also known as Environment Canada, a department of the Government of Canada....

, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service

United States Fish and Wildlife Service

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...

, the United States Geological Survey

United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...

, Ducks Unlimited

Ducks Unlimited

Ducks Unlimited is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. It currently has approximately 780,000 members, mostly in the United States and Canada.-Introduction:Ducks Unlimited was...

, Bird Studies Canada, the Pacific Flyway

Pacific Flyway

The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south route of travel for migratory birds in America, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading to breeding grounds, or travelling to...

 Council, and the council for U.S. Flyways. It is one of three species joint ventures operating within the North American Waterfowl Management Plan

North American Waterfowl Management Plan

The North American Waterfowl Management Plan is an international plan to conserve waterfowl and migratory birds in North America. It was established in 1986 by Canada and the United States, and expanded to include Mexico in 1994....

.

The partnership studies 15 species of sea ducks

Merginae

The seaducks, Merginae, form a subfamily of the duck, goose and swan family of birds, Anatidae.As the name implies, most but not all, are essentially marine outside the breeding season. Many species have developed specialized salt glands to allow them to tolerate salt water, but these have not yet...

: Barrow's Goldeneye

Barrow's Goldeneye

Barrow's Goldeneye is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. This bird was named after Sir John Barrow....

, Black Scoter

Black Scoter

The Black or American Scoter is a large sea duck, 43 to 49 centimeters in length. Together with the Common Scoter M. nigra, it forms the subgenus Oidemia; the two are sometimes considered conspecific, the Black Scoter then being referred to as M. nigra americana...

, Bufflehead

Bufflehead

The Bufflehead is a small American sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Anas albeola.-Description:...

, Common Eider

Common Eider

The Common Eider, Somateria mollissima, is a large sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breeds in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, but winters somewhat farther south in temperate zones, when it can form large flocks on...

, Common Goldeneye

Common Goldeneye

The Common Goldeneye is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. Their closest relative is the similar Barrow's Goldeneye....

, Common Merganser

Common Merganser

The Common Merganser or Goosander Mergus merganser is a large duck, of rivers and lakes of forested areas of Europe, northern and central Asia, and North America. It eats fish and nests in holes in trees...

, Harlequin Duck

Harlequin Duck

The Harlequin Duck is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Arlecchino, Harlequin in French, a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", "actor". In North America it is also known as Lords and ladies...

, Hooded Merganser

Hooded Merganser

The Hooded Merganser is a small duck and is the only member of the genus Lophodytes.Hooded Mergansers have a crest at the back of the head which can be expanded or contracted. In adult males, this crest has a large white patch, the head is black and the sides of the duck are reddish-brown...

, King Eider

King Eider

The King Eider is a large sea duck that breeds along northern hemisphere Arctic coasts of northeast Europe, North America and Asia. The birds spend most of the year in coastal marine ecosystems at high latitudes, and migrate to Arctic tundra to breed in June and July...

, Long-tailed Duck

Long-tailed Duck

The Long-tailed Duck or Oldsquaw is a medium-sized sea duck. It is the only living member of its genus, Clangula; this was formerly used for the goldeneyes, with the Long-tailed Duck being placed in Harelda...

, Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

The Red-breasted Merganser is a diving duck.-Taxonomy:The Red-breasted Merganser was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae.-Description:...

, Spectacled Eider

Spectacled Eider

The Spectacled Eider is a large sea duck that breeds on the coasts of Alaska and northeastern Siberia.The lined nest is built on tundra close to the sea, and 5–9 eggs are laid. This species dives for crustaceans and molluscs...

, Steller's Eider

Steller's Eider

The Steller's Eider is a medium-large sea duck that breeds along the Arctic coasts of eastern Siberia and Alaska. The lined nest is built on tundra close to the sea, and 6-10 eggs are laid....

, Surf Scoter

Surf Scoter

The Surf Scoter is a large sea duck, which breeds in Canada and Alaska. It is placed in the subgenus Melanitta, along with the Velvet and White-winged Scoters, distinct from the subgenus Oidemia, Black and Common Scoters.It winters further south in temperate zones, on the coasts of the northern USA...

, and White-winged Scoter

White-winged Scoter

The White-winged Scoter is a large sea duck.-Description:It is characterised by its bulky shape and large bill. This is the largest species of scoter. Females range from 950-1950 grams and 48–56 cm , averaging 1180 grams and 52.3 cm . She is brown with pale head patches...

. These represent one third of all waterfowl species in North America. Four of these species are threatened in some of their habitats: the Harlequin Duck in eastern Canada

Eastern Canada

Eastern Canada is generally considered to be the region of Canada east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces:* New Brunswick* Newfoundland and Labrador* Nova Scotia* Ontario* Prince Edward Island* Quebec...

, the Barrow's Goldeneye in Eastern Canada and Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, and the Spectacled Eider and Steller's Eider in the United States.

Four primary factors were identified for the declining populations of sea ducks in North America: "lack of knowledge about their ecology, contaminants, unsustainable hunting, and habitat loss and degradation". Activities such as "logging, fuel-wood harvesting, and land developments" have resulted in loss of breeding habitats for cavity-nesting sea ducks, particularly the mergansers, goldeneyes, and buffleheads. Habitat loss

Habitat destruction

Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the purpose of...

 includes the effects of coastal development, resource exploration

Mineral exploration

Mineral exploration is the process of finding ore to mine. Mineral exploration is a much more intensive, organized and professional form of mineral prospecting and, though it frequently uses the services of prospecting, the process of mineral exploration on the whole is much more involved.-Stages...

 and development, use of waterway

Waterway

A waterway is any navigable body of water. Waterways can include rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and canals. In order for a waterway to be navigable, it must meet several criteria:...

s for shipping

Shipping

Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...

, and other large-scale environmental changes. Contamination results from oil spill

Oil spill

An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is mostly used to describe marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters...

s and the discharge of heavy metals into the water system.

Conferences

A conference is held every three years between partners and scientists involved in the study and preservation of sea duck populations. The first was held in Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 in 2002, and subsequent events were held in Annapolis

Annapolis, Maryland

Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 (2005) and Quebec City

Quebec City

Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

 (2008). The 2011 conference will be held in Seward

Seward, Alaska

Seward is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 3,016....

, Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

.