Director of Marine Bird Program

Iain capturing and banding Black Guillemots on a research expedition to Little Duck Island.

Iain Stenhouse, Ph.D

Director of Marine Bird Program and Co-Director Center for Waterbird Studies
iain.stenhouse@briwildlife.org
207-839-7600 x210

Dr. Stenhouse’s passion for seabirds and remote islands was forged on the rugged west coast of his native Scotland. On completing his undergraduate degree, he worked as a research ornithologist with Scottish Natural Heritage, studying increasing goose populations and their interactions with agriculture. He moved to Newfoundland to take on graduate research studies. During his time in eastern Canada, Iain investigated the habitat use and breeding success of Leach’s Storm-Petrels in Newfoundland, and the reproductive and behavioral ecology of Sabine’s Gulls in the eastern Arctic.

Iain came to BRI from the National Audubon Society’s Science Office, where he was the senior scientist for the national IBA Program. Although much of his recent work at BRI has focused on offshore wind and wildlife, Iain is particularly interested in tracking seabirds’ long-distance migration. In 2007-2008, he was involved in a study tracking Arctic Terns from Northeast Greenland to Antarctica and back again—recording the longest animal migration ever measured at that time—an average annual return journey of more than 70,000 km!

Iain is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern Maine and the University of Maine-Orono. He has authored many peer-reviewed papers on the ecology of marine birds, including three species accounts in the acclaimed Birds of North America series.

Education & Certifications

  • Ph.D., Cognitive & Behavioral Ecology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2003
    • Stenhouse, I.J. (2003) The reproductive behaviour and ecology of Sabine’s Gulls (Xema sabini) in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Ph.D. Thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada. 192pp.
  • M.Sc., Biopsychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1998
    • Stenhouse, I.J. (1998) Habitat utilization and breeding success of Leach’s Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa). M.Sc. Thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada. 61pp.
  • B.Sc. (Hons), Biology, University of Paisley, 1992
    • Stenhouse, I.J. (1992) The habitat selection of female Winter Wrens (Troglodytes troglodytes) during breeding. Honours Thesis, University of Paisley, Paisley, UK. 25pp.

Research Interests & Expertise

Research Interests

  • Reproductive and behavioral ecology of marine birds
  • Long-distance migration in seabirds
  • Conservation of endangered avian species
  • Protection and restoration of important habitats

Expertise and Experience

  • More than 20 years of experience in avian behavior and ecology
  • Extensive field research on northern-breeding seabirds
  • Identification, design, and implementation of conservation focused projects
  • Habitat assessment and important site identification
  • Scientific communications and collaborations

Books & Book Chapters

  • Cecil, J., Sanchez, C., Stenhouse, I.J. & Hartzler, I. (2009) United States of America. Pp 369–382 in Important Bird Areas Americas – Priority sites for biodiversity conservation (C. Devenish, D.F. Díaz Fernández, R.P. Clay, I. Davidson & I. Yépez Zabala, eds.). BirdLife International, Quito, Ecuador (BirdLife Conservation Series No. 16)

Journal Articles

Pollet, I., A. Lenske, A. Ausems, C. Barbraud, Y. Bedolla-Guzmán, A. Bicknell, M. Bolton, A. Bond, K. Delord, A. Diamond, D. Fifield, C. Gjerdrum, L. Halpin, E. Hansen, A. Hedd, R. Hoeg, H. Major, R. Mauck, G. McClelland, L. McFarlane Tranquilla, W. Montevecchi, M. Parker, I. Pratte, J. -F. Rail, G. Robertson, J. Rock, R. Ronconi, D. Shutler, I. Stenhouse, A. Takahashi, Y. Watanuki, L. Welch, S. Wilhelm, S. Wong, & M. Mallory. 2023. Experts’ opinions on threats to Leach’s Storm-Petrels (Hydrobates leucorhous) across their global range. Avian Conservation and Ecology 18: art11.
Gulka, J., A. M. Berlin, K. D. Friedland, A. T. Gilbert, C. Goetsch, W. A. Montevecchi, M. Perry, I. J. Stenhouse, K. A. Williams, & E. M. Adams. 2023. Assessing individual movement, habitat use, and behavior of non-breeding marine birds in relation to prey availability in the US Atlantic. Marine Ecology Progress Series 711: 77-99.
Goetsch, C., J. Gulka, K. D. Friedland, A. J. Winship, J. Clerc, A. Gilbert, H. F. Goyert, I. J. Stenhouse, K. A. Williams, J. R. Willmott, M. L. Rekdahl, H. C. Rosenbaum, & E. M. Adams. 2023. Surface and subsurface oceanographic features drive forage fish distributions and aggregations: Implications for prey availability to top predators in the US Northeast Shelf ecosystem. Ecology and Evolution 13.
Perkins, M., I. J. Stenhouse, R. B. Lanctot, S. Brown, J. Bêty, M. Boldenow, J. Cunningham, W. English, R. Gates, H. G. Gilchrist, M. -A. Giroux, K. Grond, B. Hill, E. Kwon, J. -F. Lamarre, D. B. Lank, N. Lecomte, D. Pavlik, J. Rausch, K. Regan, M. Robards, S. T. Saalfeld, F. Smith, P. A. Smith, B. Wilkinson, P. Woodard, & N. Basu. 2023. Factors influencing mercury exposure in Arctic-breeding shorebirds. Ecotoxicology 32: 1062-1083.
Fraser, G. S., G. J. Robertson, I. J. Stenhouse, & J. I. Ellis. 2022. Estimating the numbers of aquatic birds affected by oil spills: pre-planning, response, and post-incident considerations. Environmental Reviews 30: 323-341.
Adams, E. M., I. J. Stenhouse, A. T. Gilbert, J. Boelsma, G. Gress, C. S. Weidensaul, C. Grigsby, E. J. Williams, L. Phillips, & C. L. McIntyre. 2022. The first documentation of the Nearctic–Paleotropical migratory route of the Arctic Warbler. Ecology and Evolution 12.
Davies, T. E., A. P. B. Carneiro, M. Tarzia, E. Wakefield, J. C. Hennicke, M. Frederiksen, E. S. Hansen, B. Campos, C. Hazin, B. Lascelles, T. Anker‐Nilssen, H. Arnardóttir, R. T. Barrett, M. Biscoito, L. Bollache, T. Boulinier, P. Catry, F. R. Ceia, O. Chastel, S. Christensen‐Dalsgaard, M. Cruz‐Flores, J. Danielsen, F. Daunt, E. Dunn, C. Egevang, A. I. Fagundes, A. L. Fayet, J. Fort, R. W. Furness, O. Gilg, J. González‐Solís, J. P. Granadeiro, D. Grémillet, T. Guilford, S. A. Hanssen, M. P. Harris, A. Hedd, N. P. Huffeldt, M. Jessopp, Y. Kolbeinsson, J. Krietsch, J. Lang, J. F. Linnebjerg, S. ‐H. Lorentsen, J. Madeiros, E. Magnusdottir, M. L. Mallory, L. McFarlane Tranquilla, F. R. Merkel, T. Militão, B. Moe, W. A. Montevecchi, V. Morera‐Pujol, A. Mosbech, V. Neves, M. A. Newell, B. Olsen, V. H. Paiva, H. ‐U. Peter, A. Petersen, R. A. Phillips, I. Ramírez, J. A. Ramos, R. Ramos, R. A. Ronconi, P. G. Ryan, N. M. Schmidt, I. A. Sigurðsson, B. Sittler, H. Steen, I. J. Stenhouse, H. Strøm, G. H. R. Systad, P. Thompson, T. L. Thórarinsson, R. S. A. van Bemmelen, S. Wanless, F. Zino, & M. P. Dias. 2021. Multispecies tracking reveals a major seabird hotspot in the North Atlantic. Conservation Letters 14.
Stenhouse, I. J., E. M. Adams, L. M. Phillips, S. Weidensaul, & C. L. McIntyre. 2020. A preliminary assessment of mercury in the feathers of migratory songbirds breeding in the North American subarctic. Ecotoxicology 29: 1221-1228.
Stenhouse, I. J., A. M. Berlin, A. T. Gilbert, M. W. Goodale, C. E. Gray, W. A. Montevecchi, L. Savoy, & C. S. Spiegel. 2020. Assessing the exposure of three diving bird species to offshore wind areas on the U.S. Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf using satellite telemetry. Diversity and Distributions 26. Available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ddi.13168.
Paruk, J. D., I. J. Stenhouse, B. J. Sigel, E. M. Adams, W. A. Montevecchi, D. C. Evers, A. T. Gilbert, M. Duron, D. Long, J. Hemming, & P. Tuttle. 2019. Oiling of American White Pelicans, Common Loons, and Northern Gannets in the winter following the Deepwater Horizon (MC252) oil spill. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 191: 817. Available at http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10661-019-7925-y.

Research Reports

BRI Scientific Communications