Bruce C. Thompson is a Research Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Department of the Interior and is Assistant Leader for Wildlife in the New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. His wildlife conservation and ecological training include a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, M.S. from Oregon State University, and Ph.D. from Texas A & M University. He has diverse professional experience through research and conservation assignments with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Washington Department of Game, and U.S. Marine Corps natural resources program. Bruce has published on a wide array of wildlife topics, especially nongame birds, and is a former Editor of the Wildlife Society Bulletin . Current address: New Mexico Coop. Fish and Wildlife Res. Unit, P.O. Box 30003 Dept. 4901, Las Cruces, NM 88003. E-mail: bthompso@nmsu.edu.
Jerome A. Jackson is Professor of Biological Sciences at Mississippi State University and has worked with Least Terns and Gulf Coast barrier island ecosystems for 25 years. He is a Past President of the Wilson Ornithological Society and Mississippi Ornithological Society; formerly a Director for the U.S. Section of the International Council for Bird Preservation and Mississippi Academy of Science; former editor of The Wilson Bulletin, Journal of Field Ornithology, Inland Bird Banding, North American Bird Bander, and Bird Conservation; and former Regional Editor for American Birds . Jerry currently edits Mississippi Kite and is a Contributing Editor of Birder’s World . For 8 years, he has cohosted Mississippi Outdoors, a weekly television feature. Current address: Mississippi State University, Box Z, Mississippi State, MS 39762. E-mail: picus@ra.msstate.edu.
Joanna Burger is Professor of Biological Sciences and teaches ecology and behavior at Rutgers University, where she previously was Director of the Ecology and Evolution Graduate Program. She has a B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany, an M.S. from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, and she has conducted postdoctoral research at the Institute of Animal Behavior. She has edited 6 volumes on the behavior of waterbirds, interactions among marine organisms, and the aftermath of the Arthur Kill oil spill. She has written 2 books with Michael Gochfeld— The Black Skimmer (1991) and The Common Tern (1991); and authored A Naturalist along the Jersey Shore (1996). She has studied seabirds and shorebirds for more than 25 years. Current address: Nelson Biological Laboratory, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08855-1059. E-mail: burger@biology.rutgers.edu.
Laura A. Hill coordinates habitat conservation planning efforts in the Pacific Coast region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She studied Least Terns for her M.S. thesis research at Oklahoma State University before joining the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Oklahoma State Office) in 1984. For a decade she coordinated Least Tern surveys, recovery efforts, and Endangered Species Act consultations there. Current address: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 911 Northeast 11th Ave., Portland, OR 97232-4181. E-mail: laura_hill@fws.gov.
Eileen M. Kirsch is a Research Wildlife Biologist for the U.S. Department of the Interior in La Crosse, WI. She earned her B.S. and M.A. in biology from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Montana. She has conducted research on population ecology and habitat requirements of Least Terns, Piping Plovers, Double-crested Cormorants, small mammals, and breeding songbirds. Current address: Upper Mississippi Science Center, 2630 Fanta Reed Road, La Crosse, WI 54603. E-mail: eileen_kirsch@nbs.gov.
Jonathan L. Atwood has been a Biologist at Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences in Plymouth, MA, since 1986, and now directs the Avian Conservation Division there. He received his M.A. from California State University-Long Beach in 1978 for behavioral studies of the Santa Cruz Island Scrub-Jay, and his Ph.D. from the University of California-Los Angeles in 1986 for taxonomic work leading to the recognition of California and Black-tailed gnatcatchers as distinct species. Jon’s participation in California Gnatcatcher conservation has aided major state and federal policy initiatives to proactively conserve natural habitats and communities while allowing continued economic development. He studied the dynamics of Least Tern colony formation for 9 years in southern California, and, in ongoing work, for 10 years in Massachusetts. Current address: Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, P.O. Box 1770, Manomet, MA 02345. E-mail: jatwood@manomet.org.
