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Consideration of the full annual cycle population dynamics can provide useful insight for conservation efforts, but collecting data needed to estimate demographic parameters is often logistically difficult. For species that breed in remote areas, monitoring is often conducted during migratory stopover or at nonbreeding sites, and the recruitment rate of new breeding adults can be difficult to estimate directly. Here, we present an integrated population model that uses mark‐resight and count data to estimate survival probability, population growth rate, and recruitment rate for an Arctic‐breeding shorebird of conservation concern, the red knot (Calidris canutus rufa), from data collected during spring stopover in Delaware Bay, USA, from 2005 to 2018. At this site, red knots feed primarily on the eggs of spawning horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus), a legally harvested species. We used this model to estimate the relationship between horseshoe crab abundance and red knot demographics, which informed a recent revision to the framework used to establish horseshoe crab harvest regulations. Our analysis indicates that the red knot population was most likely stable from 2005 to 2018 (average λ = 1.03, 95% credible interval [CRI]: 0.961, 1.15) despite low recruitment rates (average ρ = 0.088, 95% CRI: 0.012, 0.18). Adult survival probability was positively associated with horseshoe crab abundance in the same year (β = 0.35, 95% CRI: 0.09, 0.63), but we found no effect of horseshoe crab abundance two years previously on recruitment of new adults (β = −0.08, 95% CRI: −0.41, 0.38). Our approach demonstrates the utility of integrated population models for understanding population dynamics, even when data are only available from migratory stopover monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the effects of migratory stopover site conditions on both demographic rates and migratory behaviors is critical for interpreting changes in passage population sizes at stopover sites and predicting responses to future changes and conservation actions. We used a Bayesian formulation of the open robust design model to analyze mark‐resight observations of three migratory shorebird species using Delaware Bay, USA during spring stopover from 2005 to 2018. We tested for an effect of stopover food availability and weather conditions on survival probability and the probability of returning to this site in the next year and found species differences in these relationships. After years with greater food availability, red knot Calidris canutus rufa had higher survival probability but ruddy turnstone Arenaria interpres were more likely to return to the site. Estimates of within‐year probabilities of arrival and persistence at the stopover site showed relatively consistent migration schedules for ruddy turnstone, but more interannual variation for red knot and sanderling Calidris alba. Shorebird use of this site typically peaked during May 26–28, but the estimated proportion of the population present during this period varied dramatically among years for red knot (range: 0.07–0.59) but less so for ruddy turnstone and sanderling. This demonstrates that both the proportion of the flyway population using this stopover site and the proportion present during a given sampling period vary among years, and both should be considered in analyzing and interpreting monitoring data. Stopover conditions can influence both migratory behavior and demographics, underscoring the importance of flyway‐wide monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GLO:K8N/01jan21:ibi12901-fig-0001.jpg PHOTO (COLOR): . gl Photo Credit: Joanna Burger On 6 November 2019, the world of wader science and conservation lost its inspirational leader and father-figure when Clive Minton died in a car crash in Victoria, Australia. Clive introduced cannon-netting to the Victorian banding project soon after his arrival, and in June 1979 it formally became the Victorian Wader Study Group (VWSG), a group that Clive chaired for its first 39 years. Allan quickly realized that Clive would be the person to start banding waders in difficult places and invited Clive to join him on an expedition to Tierra del Fuego in 1995. [Extracted from the article]

Wind energy generation has become an important means to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and mitigate against human‐induced climate change, but could also represent a significant human–wildlife conflict. Airborne taxa such as birds may be particularly sensitive to collision mortality with wind turbines, yet the relative vulnerability of species' populations across their annual life cycles has not been evaluated.Using GPS telemetry, we studied the movements of lesser black‐backed gulls Larus fuscus from three UK breeding colonies through their annual cycle. We modelled the distance travelled by birds at altitudes between the minimum and maximum rotor sweep zone of turbines, combined with the probability of collision, to estimate sensitivity to collision. Sensitivity was then combined with turbine density (exposure) to evaluate spatio‐temporal vulnerability.Sensitivity was highest near to colonies during the breeding season, where a greater distance travelled by birds was in concentrated areas where they were exposed to turbines.Consequently, vulnerability was high near to colonies but was also high at some migration bottlenecks and wintering sites where, despite a reduced sensitivity, exposure to turbines was greatest.Synthesis and applications. Our framework combines bird‐borne telemetry and spatial data on the location of wind turbines to identify potential areas of conflict for migratory populations throughout their annual cycle. This approach can aid the wind farm planning process by: (a) providing sensitivity maps to inform wind farm placement, helping minimize impacts; (b) identifying areas of high vulnerability where mitigation warrants exploration; (c) highlighting potential cumulative impacts of developments over international boundaries and (d) informing the conservation status of species at protected sites. Our methods can identify pressures and linkages for populations using effect‐specific metrics that are transferable and could help resolve other human–wildlife conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Conflicts in resource use between humans and wildlife populations are increasingly determined through quantitative approaches. To better understand interactions between birds and human activities in the marine environment, telemetry is routinely used to characterize the area use of species, but evaluations are often based on a small number of individuals taken as representative of a local population studied. Furthermore, the relative importance of the number of animals required and for what duration they should be tracked has received little attention. We examined the central-place foraging movements of 24 lesser black-backed gulls ( Larus fuscus) from a protected population from 1 March to 31 August during 2010-2013. Using bootstrapping and non-linear modeling, we investigated whether sample sizes were sufficient to characterize offshore area use by considering the cumulative area use for an increasing number of birds and duration of tracking. Box-and-whisker analysis suggested a minimum of 13 birds and a precautionary upper maximum of 41 birds were needed to describe 95% of the estimated area use of the population (defined by 100% occupancy). Tracking fewer birds for longer was more important than tracking more birds for less time. A period of 145 days was required to characterize area use for 13-41 birds; however, offshore areas were used primarily after May, meaning that a 97-day tracking period from May onwards was also representative. Predicted and observed areas were strongly correlated, and the predicted area of 15 birds for 151 days was 91% of the total estimated for the population. These findings suggest that the data were suitable for determining interaction with offshore developments, and were characteristic of the population. This study has revealed the power of a long-term tracking dataset, and has uncovered further complexities surrounding study design and analysis that may shape conclusions drawn. The method and considerations raised have wider applicability for other datasets where human-wildlife resource use conflicts need to be assessed. © 2017 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telemetry has become an important method for studying the biology and ecology of animals. However, the impact of tracking devices and their method of attachment on different species across multiple temporal scales has seldom been assessed. We compared the behavioural and demographic responses of two species of seabird, Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus and Great Skua Stercorarius skua, to a GPS device attached using a crossover wing harness. We used telemetry information and monitoring of breeding colonies to compare birds equipped with a device and harness, and control birds without an attachment. We assessed whether tagged birds have lower short-term breeding productivity or lower longer term overwinter return rates (indicative of overwinter survival) than controls. For Great Skua, we also assessed whether territory attendance within the breeding season differed between tagged and control birds. As with previous studies on Lesser Black-backed Gull, we found no short-term impacts on breeding productivity or long-term impacts on overwinter return rates. For Great Skua, there was no evidence for impacts of the device and harness on territory attendance or breeding productivity. However, as found by a previous study of Great Skuas using a different (body) harness design, there was strong evidence of reduced overwinter return rates. Consequently, a device attached using a wing harness was considered suitable for long-term deployment on Lesser Black-backed Gulls, but not on Great Skuas. These findings will inform the planning of future tracking studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the United States (US) Energy Information Administration (EIA), the annual US natural gas consumption is forecast to grow from 25.6 trillion cubic feet (TCF) in 2012 to 31.6 TCF in 2040 (1 CF≈28.3 L). The main component of natural gas is methane, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG). As the natural gas supply chain grows, there is increased scrutiny over leaks and losses that occur during the multiple stages from development to end users. West Virginia University's (WVU) Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines, and Emissions conducted leak and loss audits at five natural gas compressor and storage facilities in the Barnett Shale region of Texas. We have reported elsewhere on the site-specific total leak and loss rates.[11-13] This article provides an environmental and economic assessment of the total methane (natural gas) losses at these facilities. Other studies report the methane emissions in terms of tons per year, whereas this paper examines the environmental impact of these emissions through an equivalent CO2 emissions rate using multiple global warming potentials. This paper also examines the lost revenue from these leaks and the overall social cost of carbon (SCC) that could be assessed to these facilities under a proposed carbon tax. The methane leaks and losses from these sites result in CO2 equivalent emissions of over 70 000 and 24 000 metric tons annually, using a 20-year and 100-year global warming potentials (GWPs), respectively. Using a SCC of $37 per metric ton, this would result in annual costs of $2.6 million and $ 915 000 for these sites based on the respective GWPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical inquiry into the relationship between natural hazards and disasters has raised pressing questions about the uneven exposure and resilience of different social groups. This paper argues that human-induced climate change and its implication in a range of extreme events extends and complicates the pursuit of justice in the context of differentiated vulnerability to hazards. But the challenge of living with natural hazards can provoke and inspire the idea of global environmental justice in other ways. Sustained consideration of the unpredictability of physical environments draws us into engagement with the temporality and spatiality of earth processes. It points to the ways that any extended place-based inhabitation must involve demanding accommodations to environmental uncertainty - raising questions about how to 'do justice' to these achievements. Confronting forms of hardship that are triggered by the dynamics of the earth itself can also be taken as a prompt to conceive of environmental justice not only in regard to what others deserve or are entitled to, but in terms of what might be offered simply in response to their suffering. In this way, the paper proposes, thinking through natural hazard and disaster might play a part in re-imagining the very concept of environmental justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Overexploited fisheries threaten many species that depend on the exploited resource. Shorebird populations are in decline globally and here we describe how changing shellfishery management and nutrient inputs have had dramatic influence on waterbird communities on an internationally important wetland. 2. Cockle Cerastoderma edule and mussel Mytilus edulis fisheries conflict with shorebirds by removing prey and increasing mortality amongst non-target benthic invertebrates. Under intense dredging pressure, evidence suggests that benthic invertebrates such as worms, with rapid growth and short-generation times, should predominate over species such as bivalves, with slower growth and longer generation times. 3. We investigated the change in the waterbird assemblage in the Wash, eastern England, between 1981–1982 and 2002–2003. This period was characterized by heavy fishing pressure on mussels and cockles, ultimately leading to a crash in the mussel stocks. 4. During the study period, the waterbird assemblage underwent a gradual change from one dominated by those species with a high proportion of bivalves or ‘other’ prey (e.g. crustaceans, fish) in their diet to those with a higher proportion of worms. This gradual change was punctuated by major shifts, corresponding to three winters when oystercatcher Haemotopus ostralegus mortality was 5–13 times normal winter levels. 5. Oystercatcher, knot Calidris canutus and shelduck Tadorna tadorna showed the highest levels of decline. Since the last major oystercatcher mortality event in 1996–1997, the assemblage has not shifted back to that observed prior to the major crash in the mussel stock in 1992. 6. Changes in the waterbird assemblage were significantly related to mussel and cockle stock levels and, to a lesser extent, nutrient levels. Although correlative, evidence from this study indicates that fisheries caused shifts towards a waterbird community dominated by species with a high proportion of worms in their diet. 7. Synthesis and applications. Mechanical shellfisheries directly conflict with the nature conservation interest of sites holding internationally important waterbird populations. Removal of the mussel beds in the Wash led to major shifts in the waterbird assemblage, with a shift towards worm-feeders. Setting annual quotas that provide sufficient food for shellfish-eating birds is essential to maintain the favourable status of this and other internationally important wetlands where shellfish are exploited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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1. Millions of shorebirds migrate each year through a small number of highly productive staging areas where they often conflict with fisheries interests. Delaware Bay, USA, is a major shorebird stopover site where, in spring, many thousands of shorebirds undergo rapid mass gain by feeding on the eggs of commercially harvested horseshoe crabs Limulus polyphemus. 2. Environmental factors may cause deviations from the best migration schedule. We used within-year mass gain data from red knot Calidris canutus caught in Delaware Bay between 1998 and 2005 to determine the degree of flexibility individuals have to vary migration speed. 3. Mass gain by birds below 133 g was shown to comprise 15·3% fat (39 kJ g−1), the remainder being lean mass (6 kJ g−1). Above this critical level, fat comprised 83·9% of mass deposition. The rates of energy deposition (kJ d−1) were therefore fundamentally different between the two states but were among the highest ever recorded among vertebrates (5–7 × basic metabolic rate). 4. A total of 36–62% of the variation in observed rates of energy deposition between 1998 and 2002 was explained by a year factor, date and mass at initial capture and interaction terms, such that light-weight birds at the end of May had rates of mass gain or energy deposition two to three times higher than birds of similar mass in mid-May, indicating that birds were attempting to achieve a certain mass by a certain date. In 2003 and 2005, this relationship broke down as a result of lower densities of eggs. 5. Synthesis and application. The maintenance of high densities of crab eggs required for high rates of mass gain in red knot requires severe cuts in, or the complete cessation of, the crab harvest, reduced human and raptor-related disturbance as well as management of beaches to provide sufficient crab-spawning habitat. These findings are widely applicable to other systems where harvesting activities come into conflict with migrating animals and show that certain sections of the population, in this case the long-distance migrants from South America, will be impacted more than short-distance migrants whose physiology may give them access to alternative food resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used stable isotope (SI) methods in combination with pen feeding trials to determine the importance of eggs of the Atlantic horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus to migratory fattening of red knots Calidris canutus rufa and ruddy turnstones Arenaria interpres morinella during spring stopover in Delaware Bay. By manifesting measurable fractionation (ca +3‰) and rapid turnover, blood plasma δ15 nitrogen proved a functional marker for SI diet tracking during the short 3-week stopover. Blood samples from free-ranging knots (3 data sets) and turnstones (1 data set) produced similar convergence of plasma δ15N signatures with increasing body mass that indicated highly similar diets. Asymptotes deviated slightly (0.3‰ to 0.7‰) from that of captive shorebirds fed a diet of only crab eggs during stopover, thus confirming a strong crab egg-shorebird linkage. The plasma δ15N crab-egg diet asymptote was enriched ca +4.5‰ and therefore readily discriminated from that of either blue mussels Mytilus edulis or coquina clams Donax variabilis, the most likely alternative prey of knots in Delaware Bay. Crab eggs were highly palatable to captive knots and turnstones which achieved rates of mass gain (3–11 g/d) comparable to that of free-ranging birds. Peak consumption rates during hyperphagic events were 23,940 and 19,360 eggs/bird/d, respectively. The empirical conversions of eggs consumed to body mass gained (5,017 eggs/g for knots and 4,320 eggs/g for turnstones) indicate the large quantities of crab eggs required for the maintenance of these shorebird populations during stopover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study to test behavior-based individual-based model (IBM) on charadriid shorebird's mortality rate during the winter nonbreading season following loss of feeding habitat. The model has predicted that mortality rate would increase by 3.65% which compared good with the observed increase of 3.17%. Based on the test of behavior-based IBM model, the results have suggested that the chosen calibration procedure was effective, no new field work is required and behavior-based IBM could be used to explore system behavior.

1. Recent theoretical modelling has provided important insights into how habitat loss may affect local populations through impacts on individual fitness (survival, body condition, fecundity). Despite this, attempts to provide empirical evidence of such impacts on displaced individuals have been limited. Using a before-after-control-impact (BACI) approach, we report how a sudden loss of wintering habitat impacted on the body condition and survival of redshank Tringa totanus. 2. The intertidal mudflats of Cardiff Bay, UK, were inundated with freshwater in November 1999 following impoundment by a barrage, resulting in the displacement of c. 300 redshank to adjacent habitat on the Severn Estuary. Movements and the survival of these birds were monitored through observations of colour-marked individuals. Comparative survival rates were calculated for marked populations at the main recipient site, Rhymney, and a control site. 3. Displaced redshank had difficulty maintaining their mass in the first winter post-barrage closure: adults previously only recorded at Cardiff Bay were significantly lighter than those previously recorded at Rhymney. 4. Survival rates of displaced redshank also declined. The estimated annual survival of adult Cardiff Bay redshank fell from 0·846 in the 2 years pre-barrage closure to 0·778 in the 3 following years because of a significant decline in winter survival ( P = 0·0006). In comparison, there was no significant change in the survival of adult Rhymney redshank, and adult survival at the control site was actually greater post-barrage closure than beforehand. The lack of decline in these rates and the similarity between those of Cardiff Bay adults pre-barrage closure and Rhymney adults indicate that the increase in winter mortality of Cardiff Bay birds resulted from their displacement. 5. Synthesis and applications. This study provides the first conclusive empirical evidence that habitat loss can impact individual fitness in a bird population. Adult redshank displaced from Cardiff Bay experienced poor body condition and a 44% increase in mortality rate. Without an increase in the recruitment of first-winter birds, such a change is likely to reduce substantially local population size. The results reported here should help to inform governments, planners and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) seeking to understand how developments might impact on animal populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-distance migrants have evolved complex strategies for the timing of their annual moult, fattening and migration cycles. These strategies are likely to vary at different stages of a bird's life. Ringing data on 6079 Grey Plovers Pluvialis squatarola, caught on the Wash, England, between 1959 and 1996, were analysed to relate migratory strategies to patterns of primary moult and body mass changes. Adults returning from breeding grounds had a shorter and delayed primary moult (duration 90 days, starting date 19 August) in comparison with over-summering birds (duration 109 days, starting date 5 June). Three categories of migrant adults were identified on the basis of primary moult and body mass: (1) birds which did not moult, but increased body mass and migrated further south; (2) birds which moulted 1–3 inner primaries, suspended moult, increased body mass and migrated; and (3) birds which completed or suspended moult and wintered locally. In birds of the second category, timing of primary moult and body mass increase overlapped. Among wintering birds, 38% were in suspended moult. Ninety-six per cent of birds that suspended moult at the beginning of winter were males and almost all completed moult in spring. Grey Plovers which left Britain in autumn had an average body mass of 280 g, enough to reach southern Morocco without refuelling. Both wintering adults and first-year birds showed a prewinter body mass increase, peaking in December. Adults had a synchronized premigratory body mass increase in May, which suggested a negligible presence of African migrants. The average departure mass for spring migration, estimated at 316 g, would allow birds to fly non-stop to the Siberian breeding grounds in western Taymyr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the main effects that building tidal power barrages would have on the bird populations using Britain's estuaries. The changes in the tidal prism that would occur after a tidal power barrage is built are discussed in the context of their effect on the ecology of the estuary. Three main issues are discussed; the effect of changes in size and nature of the intertidal areas of the estuary, effects on saltmarshes, and the displacement of birds at closure. Recently, tidal stream technologies have been developed which are individually likely to have small effects on birds. However the cumulative effects of large scale tidal stream arrays need to be investigated. Finally, the effects of tidal barrages are put in the context of Britain's energy policy and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Should tidal power barrages be considered in the future, there will be a need for strategic assessments to be used to select sites that maximize the energy produced while minimizing the impacts on bird populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For long-distance migrants, such as many of the shorebirds, understanding the demographic implications of behavioural strategies adopted by individuals is key to understanding how environmental change will affect populations. Stable isotopes have been used in the terrestrial environment to infer migratory strategies of birds but rarely in marine or estuarine systems. Here, we show that the stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen in flight feathers can be used to identify at least three discrete wintering areas of the Red Knot Calidris canutus on the eastern seaboard of the Americas, ranging from southeastern USA to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. In spring, birds migrate northwards via Delaware Bay, in the northeastern USA, the last stopping point before arrival in Arctic breeding areas, where they fatten up on eggs of spawning Horseshoe Crabs Limulus polyphemus. The isotope ratios of feather samples taken from birds caught in the Bay during May 2003 were compared with feathers obtained from known wintering areas in Florida (USA), Bahia Lomas (Chile) and Rio Grande (Argentina). In May 2003, 30% of birds passing through the Bay had Florida-type ‘signatures’, 58% were Bahia Lomas-type, 6% were Rio Grande-type and 7% were unclassified. Some of the southern wintering birds had started moulting flight feathers in northern areas, suspended this, and then finished their moult in the wintering areas, whereas others flew straight to the wintering areas before commencing moult. This study shows that stable isotopes can be used to infer migratory strategies of coastal-feeding shorebirds and provides the basis for identifying the moult strategy and wintering areas of birds passing through Delaware Bay. Coupled with banding and marking birds as individuals, stable isotopes provide a powerful tool for estimating population-specific demographic parameters and, in this case, further our understanding of the migration systems of the declining Nearctic populations of Red Knot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on postcolonial natures while discussing the book "In Amazonia," by Hugh Raffles. It is to Hugh Raffles' credit that the landscapes and waterways of Igarapé Guariba have come to feel almost familiar, for all their pressing difference and extremity. Raffles' observations that landscapes once taken to be pristine turn out to be the locus of extensive labour has clear Australasian parallels. Even the lushness of tropical vegetation, which has so often figured in the Western imagination as the epitome of savage nature or pristine wilderness, need not have assembled itself unassisted.

Journal of Applied Ecology (2003) 40, 1090–1101 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tests the null hypothesis that Sparrowhawks Accipiter nisus selected overwintering Redshanks Tringa totanus independently of body size and condition. Study during a 10-year study at two adjacent Scottish sites; Absence of difference in wing length, leg length and bill length between Redshanks killed by Sparrowhawks and the Redshank population.

Environmental gradients across 109 British estuaries were examined in relation to the communities of shorebirds in winter. Ordination and classification techniques were employed on the 5-year means of peak-winter high-tide counts for the 13 most common species, converted to densities, for the two periods. 1969–75 (first period) and 1981–85 (second period), in order to quantify changes in community composition between the two periods. Multiple regression within GLIM was then used to relate the DCA ordination scores to physical, climatic, geographic and water chemistry variables. In an ordination analysis of the combined data for the two periods, axis I had a left—right gradient of species favouring coastal lagoons (avocet) to those favouring sandy estuaries (bar-tailed godwit, sanderling, knot). Dunlin and grey plover (favouring muddy estuaries) occupied similar positions on the ordination as did turnstone and purple sandpiper (favouring rocky estuaries). Turnstone, purple sandpiper, redshank and oystercatcher underwent large changes in numbers between the two time periods, which affected their overall contribution to community structure. In terms of changes in community composition between periods, most estuaries have experienced little change, but a small number, e.g. Blyth (Northumberland), Axe, Auchencairn Bay/Rough Firth complex, Irt/Mite/Esk complex, and the Tweed, underwent large changes. Sites showing most change received more rainfall (Jan—Mar), had higher minimum water temperature, and lower maximum salinity. Community change was not correlated with any aspect of nutrient status. Axis 1 of the sites ordination was positively correlated with estuary size, high concentrations of ammonium-N, high biochemical oxygen demand, and negatively with rainfall, mean air and minimum water temperature, maximum salinity and mean percentage of dissolved oxygen. Axis 1 therefore represents a left—right gradient of increasing estuary size containing higher quantities of organic matter, higher oxygen demand and lower oxygen availability. Multiple regression analysis within GLIM showed the effect of these nutrient-status indicator variables operated to some extent independently of estuary size. Hierarchical classification of the 109 estuaries, based on their wader communities, revealed four groups. Group 1 represented species favouring muddy estuaries; group 4 ones with a dominance of species favouring sandy shores; groups 2 and 3 represented estuaries intermediate between these types. Stepwise discriminant analysis indicated that northing, tidal range and total estuary area were significant discriminating variables between the four groups. Estuaries in group 4 tended to have a greater area of intertidal feeding habitat and wider entrances, corresponding to large estuaries. The implications of these findings to estuary conservation and development proposals, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses challenges of moving from geographies of response to geographies of responsibility. Information on the remarks made by writer Benedikt Korf concerning a commentary featured by the "Geographical Journal" on the Indian Ocean Tsunami. Information on the suspicion of Korf that distinctions are made between events deemed to be natural in origin and those that are contaminated by human casuality is also presented.

This article reflects on the impact of natural disasters on generating a pre-emptive response of generosity at a human scale. It recognizes the efforts made by certain people who mobilized generosity and hospitality among regions afflicted with the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. It also establishes a social aspect of ethical relativism where disasters and unconditional generosity are mutually intertwined.