Investigate. Inform. Inspire.
Raincoast is a team of conservationists and scientists empowered by our research to protect the lands, waters and wildlife of coastal British Columbia.
All of Raincoast’s published scientific papers, abstracts, and conference proceedings.
Published on 2020.04.10 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature
In a recent commentary published in Nature Human Behaviour, “Hypermobile human predators,” Raincoast scientists Chris Darimont and Heather Bryan raise questions regarding potential differences between human hunters and other predators with respect to the potential for disease transmission in prey populations and point out a need for further research…
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Published on 2020.02.13 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature
A team of non-Indigenous and Indigenous researchers identifies surmountable and deep-rooted obstacles to improving how the federal Impact Assessment Act incorporates Indigenous Knowledge and engages with Indigenous Knowledge systems…
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Published on 2020.01.06 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature
A new publication finds that in many cases a resurgence in Indigenous governance can increase both the scale and effectiveness of biodiversity protections…
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Published on 2019.12.19 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature
An estimated one million species are at risk of extinction globally. In Canada and the United states, there is legislation that is intended to protect species at risk. However, the majority of species are not recovering in either country.
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Published on 2019.11.13 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature
Previous research on how wolves are affected by human development have been limited in scope and location and the results were mixed. Wolves adapted in a range of ways depending on contextual factors like road or cutblock density. Research undertaken by a team of conservation scientists, including Paul Paquet of Raincoast Conservation Foundation, endeavoured to […]
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Published on 2019.10.24 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature
Last month, a group of scientists published a letter in the journal Science that advocated for trophy hunting, arguing that the practice can help safeguard biodiversity. In today’s issue of Science, there are six response letters, and Raincoast scientists (Drs. Kyle Artelle, Chris Darimont and Paul Paquet), contribute to three. Our team argues that there […]
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Published on 2019.09.18 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature
The behaviour of human hunters diverges from other animals. Other predators tend to target vulnerable individuals in prey populations. Humans, often males, tend to hunt large, reproductive-aged individuals. In the case of guided trophy hunting these species are likely perceived as costly, by increasing failure risk and risk of injury, and providing lower nutritional returns.
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Published on 2019.09.09 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature
Pacific salmon, especially Chinook and Chum, reside and feed in estuaries during downstream migrations. But the extent to which they rely on estuaries, and which habitats within estuaries, is not well understood. We need to understand this complexity if we are going to enact effective conservation policies. This is especially important in urban systems where habitat loss is ongoing, and at different rates across the estuarine mosaic. The Fraser River estuary, for example, supports a multitude of fish species…
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Published on 2019.04.17 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature
Scientists from Raincoast Conservation Foundation, University of Victoria, Alpha Wildlife Research & Management, and University of Saskatchewan reviewed more than 200 peer-reviewed academic journals that commonly publish wildlife research, evaluating the presence and comprehensiveness of ‘Animal Care’ requirements of authors. The study, “Publication reform to safeguard wildlife from researcher harm,” published as an open access article…
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Published on 2019.02.11 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature
Wildlife conservation literature and public discourse, too often gloss over the important difference between hunting and the regulation of hunting. This is so common that there is a persistent, misinformed idea that extinctions have been avoided through the act of hunting. Historically, the regulation of hunting, not hunting itself, has averted extinction…
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Published on 2019.01.07 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature
Research by scientists at Spirit Bear Research Foundation, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, and the University of Victoria, led by Christina Service, shows that salmon species diversity – the number of spawning salmon species available – is far more important and positively related to salmon consumption in coastal black bears than biomass abundance…
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Published on 2018.05.18 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature
Although we know that herring play a pivotal ecological role in nearshore ecosystems, from a scientific perspective little is known about the amount of energy and nutrients they transfer from the ocean to the land. Therefore, researchers at Raincoast Conservation Foundation, University of Victoria, and Dalhousie University, aimed to determine if the nutrients that herring […]
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