The North American Sea Duck Conference is an international meeting held every three years, under the authority of the Sea Duck Joint Venture. The first two conferences were held in Victoria, Canada (2002) and Annapolis, United States (2005).

The Third North American Sea Duck Conference will be held in Québec City, Canada, on 10-14  November 2008 at the Hôtel Château Laurier. Québec City's historical and cultural heritage is exceptional, this most European of cities being the cradle of French civilization in North America.

The conference will be hosted by Environment Canada (Canadian Wildlife Service and Science & Technology, Québec Region) and the Regroupement QuébecOiseaux (which represents birdwatcher societies and individuals interested in bird conservation), in partnership with several other agencies.

Call for Papers

We invite you to submit an abstract for an oral or poster presentation on any topic related to sea ducks (Tribe Mergini: scoters, eiders, goldeneyes, mergansers, etc.). Individuals may submit no more than two oral presentations for which they are the senior author.

Abstract submission deadline: 13 June 2008

Please save your abstract in the requested format (see Abstract Guidelines [PDF]) in a Microsoft Office Word file (v. 2003). Please use two or more files if you are submitting more than one abstract. Use the complete surname and first name initials of first author (e.g. SavardJPL or SavardJPL1 and SavardJPL2) to identify your Microsoft Office Word file(s). Send your
file(s) to with "Abstract Sea Duck Conference" in subject heading.

The person submitting the abstract should include answers to the following questions in the same file as the abstract:

1) Complete name (corresponding author)
2) E-mail address (corresponding author)
3) Telephone number (corresponding author)
4) Is presentation eligible for the student paper awards? Yes or No
5) Type of presentation submitted? Poster, Oral, Either Poster or Oral
6) Discipline for which you believe the abstract is most appropriate (you may select more than one category): Behaviour; Breeding Ecology; Wintering Ecology; Population Dynamics; Physiology; Genetics; Disease; Migration; Management; Habitat; Others: please specify

You will be notified regarding your abstract acceptance as an oral presentation or a poster no later than early August 2008.

Each oral presentation (13 minutes + 2 minutes for questions) has to be prepared using Microsoft Office PowerPoint, and must be saved in version 2003.

Each poster should measure 92 cm (36 in.) tall by 122 cm (48 in.) wide, or less.

Click here for additional details on presentation guidelines.