The waterfowl world received a much-anticipated update in 2006. The first edition of Baldassarre and Bolen's book was written in 1994 and, given the amount of high-quality research that has been completed since that time, a new edition is timely.
The second edition follows the format of the first edition closely, but each chapter has been extensively updated. Twelve chapters comprise the new volume. Chapter 1 serves as an introduction and historical overview. In most ornithology books, historical overviews seem rather perfunctory and not well placed. But, given the importance that waterfowl have played in ornithological understanding, an historical overview is much needed and sets the stage well for the material that follows.
Chapter 2 includes the mandatory material on classification. Several controversies still surround taxonomic placement of some species and the authors do a good job of justifying their choices. For example, they recognize the recent separation of Canada Geese (Branta spp.) into two species, and explain the rationale for the treatment. Explanation of different species concepts, known fossils, speciation, and related material has been handled well.
Chapters 3–6 cover the breeding season. Courtship, mating systems, reproductive and feeding ecology, and nesting, incubation, brood rearing, and molting have been extensively updated from the earlier edition.
Winter ecology is covered in Chapter 7. Mortality and harvest are covered in Chapter 8, which is given a much-needed revision from the earlier edition. Updated material on compensatory vs. additive mortality and predation are especially welcome.
Major waterfowl habitats are included in Chapter 9. The first edition covered North America almost exclusively, but the new edition goes beyond continental borders, especially into Central and South America. Since waterfowl populations are so closely tied to wetlands, especially in North America, Chapter 10 provides a reasonably thorough treatment of basic wetland ecology and management. More information on wetland restoration and creation techniques could have been added in this chapter, but that material is readily available elsewhere. Administration and management policies and philosophies concerning waterfowl and wetlands are provided in Chapter 11, and the book is concluded in Chapter 12.
Several single-page “Infoboxes” are included in the new edition, outlining contributions of notable waterfowl biologists (for example, Jean Delacour and Janet Kear, among others). I found these useful, and thought they served to make the waterfowl field more “real world.” Some people, especially students, sometimes fail to recognize that professional biologists are simply real people trying to do their best for the benefit of birds or other resources. I found that students warmed up to these Infoboxes very quickly.
I used this second edition of Waterfowl Ecology and Management in a waterfowl biology course during Fall Semester 2006 and found it to be completely adequate in all respects. Supplementary materials that I wanted to include in my course, that were not included in this book, are generally readily available. The students found the book to be very readable and informative. Jargon is used, but is well defined, and visual material is included to enhance learning. Each chapter's bibliography is a very valuable resource for beginning students and more advanced biologists alike. Typographical errors are few and don't detract from the overall impact.
The book will serve as a text for graduate or undergraduate courses, and will be a good addition to the library of professional biologists as well.
