Scientific Literature

Research: Differentiating between regulation and hunting as conservation interventions

A giant pile of bison bones loom over a person standing beside it.

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…

Salmon species diversity predicts salmon consumption by terrestrial wildlife

A collage of images and graphs from a published peer reviewed article on salmonid species diversity and bear health: Hakai, Raincoast, University of Victoria, and Spirit Bear Foundation logos at the bottom.

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…

Pacific herring spawn events influence nearshore subtidal and intertidal species

A Pacific herring stops moving for a moment; figures from the research about herring are on the right hand side.

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 […]

Conservation Letters: The elephant (head) in the room: A critical look at trophy hunting

A lion head is attached as a trophy to a post overlooking a large expanse of desert, and several University logos on the right hand side.

Published on 2018.05.16 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature

Writing in the scientific journal, Conservation Letters, an international team of conservation scientists argue that trophy hunting – hunting that involves the collection of animal body parts, or “trophies,” – is morally wrong. Led by Chelsea Batavia from the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University, the authors identify trophy hunting as […]

Predictions from machine learning ensembles: marine bird distribution and density on Canada’s Pacific coast

Maps of marine birds distributions and densities overlaid onto a tufted puffin.

Published on 2018.04.30 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature

In February of 2017, a team of researchers, including Raincoast senior scientist Dr. Paul Paquet, from five research facilities published their findings in Marine Ecology Progress Series: “Predictions from machine learning ensembles: Marine bird distribution and density on Canada’s Pacific coast”…

Criteria for a good catch: A conceptual framework to guide sourcing of sustainable salmon fisheries

FACETS, Canadian Science Publishing, Patagonia Provisions, University of Montana and Raincoast: salmon research.

Published on 2018.04.17 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature

The proposed new framework for identifying sustainably harvested salmon suggests that individual retailers develop criteria (or adopt others) that comply with this place-based foundation. Patagonia Provisions is one retailer requesting this high standard of certification because their customers want higher standards than are currently available…

Mismeasured mortality: correcting estimates of wolf poaching in the United States

Journal of Mammalogy cover for research published on mismeasured risks of poaching due to bias.

Published on 2018.04.13 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature

This research tests and rejects the long-held idea that data lost when known animals disappear were unbiased, under conditions common to most, if not all, studies using marked animals. Published government estimates are affected by the biases discovered. And so government estimates of systemically underestimating risks of poaching…

Applied Ecology: Hallmarks of science missing from North American wildlife management

A map of North America and then in text it says, An assessment of 667 wildlife management systems across Canada and the USA found that key hallmarks of science were missing...

Published on 2018.03.07 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature

A new study, “Hallmarks of science missing from North American wildlife management”, published by Science Advances , challenges a widespread assumption that wildlife management in North America is science-based. Scientists from Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Simon Fraser University, University of Victoria, and the University of Wisconsin – Madison examined management documents relating to most hunted species across […]

Political populations of large carnivores

Mashup of maps and population distribution graphs overlaid onto wolf skull illustrations.

Published on 2018.01.24 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature

A team led by researchers from Raincoast, UVic, and Simon Fraser University reviewed the scientific literature for cases in which independent scientists scrutinized government reporting of wildlife population sizes, trends and associated policy. The findings are reported in a new paper, “Political populations of large carnivores,” ….

Intergenerational equity can help to prevent climate change and extinction

Cover image from Nature Ecology and Evolution with figures and maps

Published on 2018.01.18 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature

The global crises of climate change and extinction imperil all life on Earth. A new scientific publication suggests that powerful means to address these looming threats already exist but are largely overlooked…

Research: Evaluating anthropogenic threats to endangered killer whales to inform effective recovery plans

Population viability analysis graphs overlaying a Killer Whale

Published on 2017.10.26 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature

The endangered Southern Resident killer whales (SRKWs) that inhabit the Pacific Coast of Canada and the United States are balancing on a knife-edge. New research conducted by an international team of renowned scientists representing academic and conservation organizations in three countries…

Research: online hunting forums identify achievement as prominent among multiple satisfactions

Achievement is the kind of satisfaction that is most prominent for hunters.

Published on 2017.08.30 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature

Researchers from the Raincoast Conservation Foundation and the University of Victoria have shed new light on what satisfies hunters. Reporting in the peer-reviewed journal Wildlife Society Bulletin, they found that the dominant satisfaction expressed in online hunting stories is achievement…

Research: Differentiating between regulation and hunting as conservation interventions

Salmon species diversity predicts salmon consumption by terrestrial wildlife

Pacific herring spawn events influence nearshore subtidal and intertidal species

Conservation Letters: The elephant (head) in the room: A critical look at trophy hunting

Predictions from machine learning ensembles: marine bird distribution and density on Canada’s Pacific coast

Criteria for a good catch: A conceptual framework to guide sourcing of sustainable salmon fisheries

Mismeasured mortality: correcting estimates of wolf poaching in the United States

Applied Ecology: Hallmarks of science missing from North American wildlife management

Political populations of large carnivores

Intergenerational equity can help to prevent climate change and extinction

Research: Evaluating anthropogenic threats to endangered killer whales to inform effective recovery plans

Research: online hunting forums identify achievement as prominent among multiple satisfactions

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