affiliations:
Audubon Seabird Institute, 12 Audubon Rd., Bremen, Maine, USA || Assistant Professor (Research) in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA.
biography:
Dr. Don Lyons (BSc, MSc [Eng.], MSc, PhD) joined Audubon in 2018 and now leads seabird research and stewardship efforts at several Atlantic Puffin nesting colonies in Maine as well as contributing to conservation and research projects elsewhere, including several projects studying and conserving Tufted and Horned Puffins in the North Pacific. He has worked on seabird ecology and conservation for over 20 years from the North Atlantic in Maine to the South Pacific in Indonesia, and provided leadership on projects of great conservation relevance such as colony restoration for the critically endangered Chinese Crested Tern in Asia, investigations of the steep decline of Aleutian Terns in Alaska, and reduction of conflicts between Caspian Terns and threatened salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest. His background as an electrical engineer and seabird biologist has helped him advance research on tracking seabird foraging, dispersal, and migration using both banding and electronic tagging, and in assessing the impacts of changes in ocean climate on seabird breeding success and population resiliency. His current efforts include expanding the use of seabird diet and reproductive performance to inform fisheries management, assessing the impacts of our warming climate on marine ecosystems, and the restoration of vulnerable puffin and tern populations. Don also serves as an instructor at the Hog Island Audubon Camp and Oregon State University teaching courses on seabird ecology and conservation, physiology of marine megafauna, and natural resource management, and regularly advising graduate students.
scientific papers:
Pufflings survive marine heatwaves
creative work:
Birds Eye View #4
In this painting, Laurel Mundy created a colorful collage of plants and animals likely to be seen in the intertidal zone of Washington’s Salish Sea, including sea urchins, sculpins, and sea stars underwater, with a Tufted Puffin looking down from above the “pristine” water in which it swims. On closer inspection, however, the viewer will also find discarded human trash, including a bottle, a plastic toy shovel, and other items, which are a quiet reminder about the need for better stewardship of our nearshore marine waters in Washington.
Tufted Puffin “bad hair day”
This photo of a Tufted Puffin was taken on the Pribilof Islands, on the far western edge of the U.S. continental shelf in the Bering Sea, Alaska. The long golden head tufts of the Tufted Puffin are seasonal ornamental feathers that play a key role in breeding and social communication. During the breeding season, both males and females grow these distinctive plumes, which function primarily in mate attraction through sexual selection—birds with longer, fuller tufts likely signal better health and genetic quality. In dense nesting colonies, the tufts also enhance visual signaling, helping puffins recognize one another and communicate during interactions such as courtship displays and territorial disputes. Importantly, the tufts are energetically costly to produce and are shed after the breeding season, reinforcing their role as an honest indicator of fitness rather than a functional adaptation for flight or insulation. Overall, these striking plumes serve as a form of breeding finery, allowing Tufted Puffins to stand out and successfully navigate the complex social environment of crowded seabird colonies along the North Pacific coast. When it is windy– and it is usually windy on the Pribilof Islands– the plumes go wild and create a disheveled look for this otherwise elegant looking seabird.
Donna Dewhurst