BioDiversity Research Institute

Raptor Program

Program Director

Christopher R. DeSorbo
chris.desorbo@briloon.org
207. 839.7600, ext. 115

What's New

• BRI releases findings from a multi-year study on mercury in Bald Eagles in New York state
• BRI biologists team up with raptor biologists at Cape May, NJ to learn about North American migrants.
• Findings from collaborative study of contemporary and traditional contaminants in bald eagle eggs, 2000 – 2006 presented by Steve Mierzykowski, USFWS, at the 29th annual Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) meeting in Tampa, Florida.

Current BRI Projects

• Evaluating exposure and potential reproductive impacts from mercury and other environmental contaminants on bald eagle populations in Maine and other New England states.
• Monitoring bald eagle movements using satellite telemetry.
• Monitoring nesting and feeding activity of bald eagles using a remote live-streaming video camera.
• Inventory of resident woodland raptors in Acadia National Park, Maine.
• Developing a mercury exposure profile for New England raptors.
• Project Maine Osprey - a monitoring program dedicated to documenting and monitoring the distribution and productivity of Ospreys in Maine.
• Evaluating post-nesting movements of Maine Ospreys using radiotelemetry.

Recent Reports, Papers and Presentations

• DeSorbo C.R., C.S. Todd, S.E. Mierzykowski, D.C. Evers, and W.
  Hanson. 2009. Assessment of mercury in Maine’s interior bald eagle population. USFWS. Spec. Proj. Rep. FY07-MEFO-3-EC. Maine Field Office. Old Town, ME. 42 pp. pdf
  
• Evers, D.C. and DeSorbo, C.R. 2008. Preliminary assessment of Osprey nests in southern Belize: developing future monitoring and sampling programs. Report BRI 2008-07, BioDiversity Research Institute, Gorham, Maine. pdf
• DeSorbo, C. R. and D. C. Evers. 2007. Evaluating exposure of Maine's Bald Eagle population to Mercury: assessing impacts on productivity and spatial exposure patterns. Report BRI 2007-02. BioDiversity ResearchInstitute, Gorham, ME. 36 pp. pdf
• DeSorbo, C. R. 2008. Evaluating mercury exposure in raptor populations in southeastern NH and the Boston vicinity: an integrated research and educational approach. Report submitted to the Fuller Foundation, Hampton, NH (in prep.).
• DeSorbo, C. R., P. Nye, J. J. Loukmas, and D. C. Evers. 2008. Assessing mercury exposure and spatial patterns in adult and nestling bald eagles in New York State, with an emphasis on the Catskill region. Report no. 2007-09 submitted to The Nature Conservancy, New York State. pdf
• DeSorbo, C. R. 2008. Spatial, temporal, and habitat-based patterns of mercury exposure in interior bald eagles in Maine. M.Sc. Thesis. Antioch University, Keene, NH.
• Fallon, J. A., C. R. DeSorbo, S. L. Clubb, C. S. Todd, and H. S. Klandorf. 2007. Pentosidine as a biomarker of age in Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and captive psittacines. 28th Annual Association of Avian Veterinarians Conference & Expo. Providence, RI, August 4-8. pdf
• Shemansky, J., A. McMillan, and C. R. DeSorbo. 2007. Preliminary population genetic analysis of Bald Eagles using microsatellite markers developed for White-tailed Sea Eagles. 27th annual Midwest Ecology and Evolution Conference, Kent, OH, March 9 - 11, 2007 (poster). pdf
• Desorbo, C.R. and Evers, D.C. 2006. Evaluating exposure of Maines Bald Eagle population to Mercury: assessing impacts on productivity and spatial exposure patterns. Report BRI 2006- 02. Biodiversity Research Institute, Gorham, ME. 31 pp. pdf
• DeSorbo, C. R., C. S. Todd, D. C. Evers, S. E. Mierzykowski, W. Hanson W. W. Bowerman C. Romanek R. Taylor. 2006. Evaluating exposure of Maines Bald Eagle population to Mercury: assessing impacts on productivity and spatial exposure patterns. 27th Annual Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Quebec, Canada, Nov. 5 - 9, 2006. (presentation)
• Mierzykowski, S. E., C. S. Todd, C. R. DeSorbo, W. Hanson, and D. C. Evers. 2006. Mercury in Bald Eagle eggs from Maine: past and present. 27th Annual Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Quebec, Canada, Nov. 5 - 9, 2006. (poster) pdf
• DeSorbo, C. R., C. S. Todd, D. C. Evers, S. E. Mierzykowski, W. Hanson W. W. Bowerman C. Romanek R. Taylor. 2006. Evaluating exposure of Maines Bald Eagle population to Mercury: assessing impacts on productivity and spatial exposure patterns. 8th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Madison, WI, Aug. 6 - 11, 2006. (poster)
• Mierzykowski, S. E., C. S. Todd, C. R. DeSorbo, W. Hanson, and D. C. Evers. 2006. Mercury in Bald Eagle eggs from Maine: past and present. 8th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Madison, WI, Aug. 6 - 11, 2006. (poster).
• DeSorbo, C. R., C. S. Todd, D. C. Evers, S. E. Mierzykowski, W. Hanson. 2005. Evaluating exposure of Maines Bald Eagle population to Mercury: assessing impacts on productivity and spatial exposure patterns. Raptor Research Foundation, 2005 Annual Meeting, Green Bay, WI, Oct 12-16, 2005. (presentation)
• DeSorbo, C. R., and D. C. Evers. 2005. Mercury Issues in Bird Populations of the Northeast. New Hampshire-Vermont Birders Conference, Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, VT, Nov 15, 2005. (presentation).