David F. DeSante (President and Comptroller) Tel: (415) 663 2052

Dave founded IBP in 1989 and served as its Executive Director until September 2008. He also created the MAPS program in 1989, IBP's first major project, and the MoSI program, MAPS’ Neotropical winter-season complement, in 2001. Dave is also the founder and was the first editor of Bird Populations, IBP's annual journal of global avian demography and biogeography, and is the founder and managing editor of Bird Populations Monographs. Dave earned his doctorate in Biological Sciences from Stanford University in 1973. Before founding IBP, Dave held Assistant Professor positions at Stanford University and Reed College, and served for ten years as Director of Terrestrial Research at the Point Reyes Bird Observatory.

Dave’s research interests include population dynamics, vital rates, and reproductive and winter ecology of landbirds; structure and dynamics of landbird communities; avian biomonitoring and surveying techniques; avian biogeography; population and ecological implications of bird migration; and bird navigation. Dave has authored or co-authored over 70 peer-reviewed papers, monographs, and books and over 160 technical reports. Dave was awarded the 2003 Partners In Flight Investigator’s Award (for IBP) for efforts to develop conservation strategies for landbirds based on monitoring vital rates; and was named 2005 Conservationist of the Year by the Western Chapter of the Wildlife Society.

Selected Publications:

DeSante, D. F., and D. R. Kaschube. 2007. The Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program 2002 and 2003 report. Bird Populations 8:46-115.

DeSante, D. F., E. D. Ruhlen, and R. Scalf. 2007. The distribution and relative abundance of Burrowing Owls in California during 1991-1993: evidence for a declining population and thoughts on its conservation. Pp. 1-41 in Barclay, J.H., K.W. Hunting, J.L. Lincer,, J. Linthicum, and T.A. Roberts (eds.). Proceedings of the California Burrowing Owl Symposium, November 2003. Bird Populations Monographs No.1.

DeSante, D. F., M. P. Nott, and D. R. Kaschube. 2005. Monitoring, modeling, and management: Why base avian monitoring on vital rates and how should it be done? Pages 795-804 in C. J. Ralph and T. D. Rich, editors. Bird Conservation Implementation and Integration in the Americas. U.S. Forest Service General Technical Report PSW-GTR-191.

DeSante, D. F., D. R. O’Grady, and M. P. Nott. 2001. Identifying the proximate demographic cause(s) of population change by modeling spatial variation in productivity, survivorship, and population trends. Ardea 89(special issue):185-208.

DeSante, D. F., D. R. O'Grady, and P. Pyle. 1999. Measures of productivity and survival derived from standardised mist-netting are consistent with observed population changes. Bird Study 46 (suppl.): S178-188.

DeSante, D. F. 1995. Suggestions for future directions for studies of marked migratory landbirds from the perspective of a practitioner in population management and conservation. Journal of Applied Statistics 22:949-965.

DeSante, D. F., and T. L. George. 1994. Population trends in the landbirds of western North America. Pp. 173-190 in J. R. Jehl and N. K. Johnson (eds.), A Century of Avifaunal Change in Western North America. Studies in Avian Biology No. 15.

DeSante, D. F. 1990. The role of recruitment in the dynamics of a Sierran subalpine bird community. American Naturalist 136:429-455.

DeSante, D. F., and G. R. Geupel. 1987. Landbird productivity in central coastal California: the relationship to annual rainfall, and a reproductive failure in 1986. Condor 89:636-653.

DeSante, D. F., and P. Pyle. 1986. Distributional Checklist of North American Birds. Artemisia Press, Lee Vining, CA. 442 pp.

DeSante, D. F. 1983. Annual variability in the abundance of migratory landbirds on Southeast Farallon Island, California. Auk 100:826-852.

DeSante, D. F., and D. G. Ainley. 1980. The Avifauna of the South Farallon Islands, California. Studies in Avian Biology No. 4. 104 pp.

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