Leslie Tuck and the Origins of Arctic Marine Bird Research in the Canadian Arctic, 1954 – 1957

Аннотация

Leslie M. Tuck (1911 – 79) was a pioneer of Arctic ornithology. He made the first studies in Canada of the breeding biology of Arctic-breeding seabirds, making three visits to major seabird colonies (four colonies total at the three destinations) in the Eastern Arctic in the 1950s. His main purpose was to assess population sizes and demography of Thick-billed Murres. His aims were to better understand the impact of hunting in Newfoundland and Labrador, where probably hundreds of thousands of birds were being harvested annually, and to assess the sustainability of that hunt. His studies were the first of many that have been conducted subsequently. Using archived material, I assess the impact of Tuck’s work and the degree to which it was affected by logistical constraints, highlight the contribution of local Inuit to his research, and discuss some unanswered questions that Tuck’s observations posed. Despite Tuck’s prolific writing, both scientific and popular, questions remain about some of his results, particularly the number of birds in the colonies at the time of his visits, a statistic very pertinent to current conservation concerns. Sadly, because of lack of information on the methods he used, these questions cannot be answered unless further historical material comes to light.