Aspects of the breeding behaviour of the kittiwake (rissa tridactyla) before egg-laying

The breeding behaviour of individually marked Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) that retained mates from the previous year (SAME) was compared, over the period from pair-formation to egg-laying, with those that changed mates (CHANGE). Courtship behaviour and sequences are described. Position of nest-site in colony and breeding experience did not differ in the two groups. Pair-formation was later in CHANGE pairs but dates of egg-laying were similar. Birds in CHANGE pairs used a less efficient means of nest-site defense by incorporating up to 19% more attendance as a pair. Birds in CHANGE pairs left their nest-sites unattended up to 13% less often. Rates of greeting were up to 2.5 times higher in CHANGE pairs and energy requirements were probably higher as a result. There was no evidence that frequency and timing of courtship feeding or copulation differed in a manner that could explain the lower reproductive success in CHANGE pairs reported by other workers. Breeding and non-breeding males interfered in the copulations of others. Breeding males were more often than expected members of CHANGE pairs and interfered most often during the two week period before their females laid eggs. The effects of interference on disrupted pairs was minimal. The adaptive significance of interference is discussed. In general, there was greater variance in measures of behaviour in CHANGE pairs and differences between the two groups were usually greatest during the first two weeks after pair-formation. The causation of these difference's are discussed in terms of mate familiarity and presumed differences in paternity assurance in the two groups. The consequences are discussed in terms of breeding efficiency and the costs of mate change

First Report of Scoters (Melanitta spp.) along Eastern Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada

In September of 2017 and 2018, we observed hundreds of scoters (Melanitta spp.) in fiords in Arctic Canada, approximately 1100 – 1800 km north of their previous northernmost observations. Given the remote locations and timing of observations, we do not know if these represent previously undiscovered areas where birds moult or new movements to Arctic locations. Moreover, the provenance of these sea ducks is unclear, as no evidence of movements to this region was indicated by large-scale satellite tracking of North American scoters during the last decade.En septembre 2017 et 2018, nous avons observé des centaines de macreuses (Melanitta spp.) dans des fjords de l’Arctique canadien, à environ 1 000 à 1 800 km au nord des observations antérieures de cette espèce les plus au nord. En raison de l’éloignement de ces lieux et de la période des observations, nous ne savons pas si elles représentent des lieux de mue jamais répertoriés pour ces oiseaux ou de nouveaux déplacements de ces oiseaux dans les régions arctiques. De plus, la provenance de ces canards de mer n’est pas claire, car il n’existe pas de preuve de déplacements vers cette région d’après les repérages satellitaires à grande échelle des macreuses nord-américaines pendant la dernière décennie

Seasonal variation in the reproductive biology of the ring -billed gull (Larus delawarensis)

The reproductive biology of the Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) was studied on Gull Island, Presqu'ile Provincial Park, Ontario, in 1976 and 1977. Early started clutches (comprising the majority of clutches on Gull Island) in 1977 produced more chicks per nest (2.20 ± 0.09) than late started clutches (0.86 ± 0.13) as a result of reductions in mean clutch size, hatching success and fledging success with date of clutch initiation. Seasonal changes in mean clutch size, hatching success and fledging success also resulted in early clutches, initiated at the peak of clutch starts, producing more chicks per nest (2.34 ± 0.11) than either pre-peak (2.13 ± 0.20) or post-peak (1.82 ± 0.29) clutches. Possible reasons for these trends, including the observed predominance of immature plumaged, breeding gulls in late started areas, are discussed. Clutches were deserted at night for varying lengths of time from at least 15 April until 10 May, 1977. It is suggested that this nocturnal desertion behaviour resulted in the enhancement of inter- and intra-clutch hatching synchrony in early started areas and further, that this may in part explain the existence of the behaviour in terms of its adaptive significance

Towards a framework for sustainable development planning in the Indonesian natural rubber industry supply network

Supply networks for natural resources such as rubber present significant opportunities to deliver global sustainability goals by reducing environmental, social and economic impacts of industrial activities. This research is using the Indonesian natural rubber industry as a case study. Early discussions with stakeholders highlighted a need for decision support tools to facilitate sustainability-related trade-offs in industry-wide and firm-level planning processes. The example used in this paper relates to rubber plantation replanting programmes and a three-way trade-off between customers’ needs for a steady flow of rubber, an industry need to improve its environmental sustainability and rubber plantation owners’ needs to maintain their financial sustainability which, in turn, influences social sustainability. An initial framework for sustainable development planning based on the case study and literature is proposed, and its use in the design of a computational simulation experiment using hybrid simulation models to predict the sustainability impacts of alternative replanting scenarios is reported

Tracking long-distance migration to assess marine pollution impact

Animal tracking provides new means to assess far-reaching environmental impacts. In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, a long-distance migrant, the northern gannet (Morus bassanus) suffered the highest oiling among beach-wrecked birds recovered. Analysis of bird-borne tracking data indicated that 25 per cent of their North American population from multiple colonies in eastern Canada migrated to the pollution zone. Findings contrasted sharply with available mark-recapture (band recovery) data. The timing of movement into and out of the Gulf indicates that immature birds would have absorbed most oil-induced mortality. Consequently, one of two outcomes is likely: either a lagged (likely difficult to assess) population decrease, or an undetectable population response buffered by age-related life-history adaptations. Tracking research is especially useful when little information on animal distributions in pollution zones is available, as is the case in the Gulf of Mexico. Ongoing research highlights current risks and conservation concerns

Supply chain social sustainability for developing nations: Evidence from India

Economic, environmental and social aspects of sustainability have been shown to span beyond organizational boundaries, indicating the importance of managing sustainability initiatives across the supply chain. Although scholars and practitioners focus a great deal of attention toward economic and environmental sustainability in supply chains, less attention is paid to social aspects. This is unfortunate, because social sustainability not only plays an important role in enabling other sustainability initiatives, but social injustices in one echelon of a supply chain can lead to significant losses for firms across the chain. Social issues have been especially problematic in developing nations, where abusive labor practices continue to negatively affect trading partners. This research seeks to disambiguate supply chain social sustainability in developing nations by uncovering relevant dimensions of social sustainability and resultant outcomes. Using semi-structured interview data collected from supply chain executives in Indian manufacturing companies, this research uncovers dimensions of social sustainability in terms of not only the focal firm, but also first-tier suppliers and customers. Each of these dimensions is then associated to potential performance outcomes. The findings not only provide a baseline for future research, but help practitioners understand where to focus their attention to enhance social sustainability in their supply chains

Short-term versus long-term benefits: balanced sustainability framework and research propositions

Sustainability research has been expanding rapidly during recent decades. Such research takes various forms with the identification of mixed results. Even though there are several review articles on sustainability with valuable insights, the time dimension aspect of sustainability is totally missing in addition to lack of well-developed framework. This paper systematically reviews previous sustainability studies published in the refereed scientific journals for the past two decades to understand the evolution of sustainability issues in the business context and solutions proposed until now. The study categorizes the popular sustainability practices into short- and long-term practices based on the time effect, and link them with different forms of organizational capabilities and sustainability performance. The paper further proposes a two-dimensional sustainability framework that incorporates practices, capabilities and performance, and the balancing issues between short- and long-term sustainability. At the end, it suggests potential research directions for future research as well

Personal Papers (MS 80-0002)

Letter from the Chardine family to the Kempner family providing news of Nicole and new baby Fabrice