Bio:
Dr. Boersma received her B.Sc. Honors from Central Michigan University in 1969, and her Ph.D. in Zoology, from Ohio State University in 1974. Her thesis was titled: “The Galapagos Penguin: A Study of Adaptations for Life in an Unpredictable Environment.”
Dee was recently appointed to the Wadsworth Endowed Chair in Conservation Science in the University of Washington's department of Biology. She has been at the University of Washington since 1974, initially as professor of Zoology and then as professor of Biology following the merger of the Zoology, Biology and Botany departments. She is currently Acting Chair of the Biology department, as well as an adjunct faculty member in the Women Studies department.
Dee has also been enlisted to take on numerous national and international leadership and advisory positions in such diverse roles as member of the Board of Trustees of Central Michigan University, as an advisor to the United States Delegation to the United Nations World Population Conference in Romania, as a member of President Nixon's Task Force of Women's Rights and Responsibilities, and as a member of the Board of Directors of Zero Population Growth. In addition, Professor Boersma was associate director of the Institute for Environmental Studies from 1987-1993.
Research Interests:
 Professor Boersma's academic research is in the area of conservation biology and has focused on seabirds as indicators of environmental change.
Since 1982, she has directed the Magellanic Penguin Project at Punta Tombo, Argentina, in her role as a scientific fellow for the Wildlife Conservation Society. Over the past 23 years, she has carried out research on Magellanic penguins in the South Atlantic, assessing their biological characteristics and the effects of human perturbations and policy changes on their survival.
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Selected Publications:
2005 *Rafferty, N. E., P. D. Boersma, and G. A. Rebstock. . Intraclutch egg-size variation in Magellanic Penguins. The Condor. 107:923–928
2005 Boersma, P.D., H.Vargas and G. Merlen. Living Laboratory in Peril. Science 13 May 2005: 925.
2005 *Walker, B.G., P.D. Boersma, and J.C. Wingfield. Field endocrinology and conservation biology. Integrative and Comparative Biology 45:12-18
2005 *Walker, B.G., P.D. Boersma and J.C. Wingfield. Age and food deprivation affects expression of the glucocorticosteroid stress response in Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) chicks. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 78:78-89
2005 *Walker, B.G., P.D. Boersma and J.C. Wingfield. Physiological condition in Magellanic Penguins: Does it matter if you have to walk a long way to your nest? The Condor (106:696-701).
2004 Boersma, P.D., G.A. Rebstock, and D.L. Stokes. Why penguin eggshells are thick. Auk 121:148-155.
2002 *Akst, E.P., P.D. Boersma and R.C. Fleischer. A comparison of genetic diversity between the Galapagos penguin and the Magellanic penguin. Conservation Genetics 3:375-383.
2001 Boersma, P.D., P. Kareiva, W.F. Fagan *J.A. Clark and *J.M. Hoekstra. How good are endangered species recovery plans? BioScience 51: 643-649.
1998 Constanza, R., F. Andrade, P. Antunes, J. van den Belt, D. Boersma, D. Boesch, F. Cararion, S. Hanna, K. Lomburg, B. Low, M. Molitor, J. Pereira, S. Rayner, R. Santos, J. Wilson and M. Young. 1998. Principles for sustainable governance of the oceans. Science 281: 198-199.
1995 *Parrish, J.K. and P.D. Boersma. Muddy waters: seabird mortality following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Amer. Scientist 83: 112-115
1994 *Gandini, P., P.D. Boersma, *E. Frere, *M. Gandini, *T. Holik and V. Lichtschein. Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) are affected by chronic petroleum pollution along the coast of Chubut, Argentina. Auk 111: 20-27.
1986 Boersma, P.D. Seabirds reflect petroleum pollution. Science 231: 373-376.
1978 Boersma, P.D. Galapagos penguins as indicators of oceanographic conditions. Science 200: 1481-1483.
*students under Dr. Boersma's direction
Teaching Interests:
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