Reciprocity and Research – how Raincoast and the Wuikinuxv Nation collaborated on ecosystem-based fisheries management research

Reciprocity and Research – how Raincoast and the Wuikinuxv Nation collaborated on ecosystem-based fisheries management research

It became apparent quickly that any research we did with the Wuikinuxv Nation on grizzly bears would be premised in a deep respect for the well-being of bears. This meant asking questions about the bears’ population, habitat, and food sources. There is a cultural principle in Wuikinuxv of looking ahead over each other and the lands and waters. In the Wuikinuxv language, this practice of being a guardian or a protector is called n̓àn̓akila.

Research: Fisheries management of the Wuikinuxv bear-salmon-human system guided by n̓àn̓akila and data

Research: Fisheries management of the Wuikinuxv bear-salmon-human system guided by n̓àn̓akila and data

Guided by the Wuikinuxv principle of n̓àn̓akila (to keep an eye on something or someone; a protector or guardian), a new study shows how fisheries managers can allocate salmon for wildlife, while balancing the needs of local communities.

Spatial alignment between grizzly bear genetic groups and Indigenous language families in coastal BC

Spatial alignment between grizzly bear genetic groups and Indigenous language families in coastal BC

In the landscape on the central coast of what is now known as British Columbia, genetic analyses have identified three distinct genetic groups of grizzly bears.  The spatial areas of these groups align strikingly well with the geographies of three Indigenous language families (Tsimshian, Northern Wakashan, Salishan Nuxalk).  The explanation the research partnership favours is…

Salmon, bears and people

Salmon, bears and people

Grizzly and black bears do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to connecting marine and terrestrial ecosystems along the coast. As fish return each fall to spawn, bears catch salmon and eat them along the river banks or adjacent forests, leaving food and nutrient sources for hundreds of species of scavengers on…

Diversity of salmon species a necessary metric to understanding how bears feed

Diversity of salmon species a necessary metric to understanding how bears feed

Salmon biomass is a measure of the total kilograms of spawning salmon. Many who are in the role of implementing conservation strategies and policies think that when it comes to bears, or terrestrial wildlife, more salmon biomass simply means more eating. However, our recent research published…

Meet the team of applied conservation scientists at the University of Victoria

Meet the team of applied conservation scientists at the University of Victoria

Last year the Raincoast lab at UVic marked an important new milestone with the creation of the Raincoast Chair in Applied Conservation Science at the University of Victoria. This five year Chaired Professorship allows us to expand our research, teaching and outreach programs in community-driven applied conservation science. Our long-term vision is to train next…

Notes from the (pre) field: “Caution – bear research in progress”

Notes from the (pre) field: “Caution – bear research in progress”

With spring comes organized chaos as graduate students and research associates transition from laboratory work, data analysis and writing, to a flurry of preparation for an upcoming season of monitoring bears on the central coast of British Columbia. We are headed to Gitga’at, Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xai’xais, Nuxalk and Wuikinuxv Territories to join…

New dietary study reveals salmon hotspots for grizzly and black bears across 700,000 square kilometres

New dietary study reveals salmon hotspots for grizzly and black bears across 700,000 square kilometres

This study represents a decade of work covering an area reaching 1000km into BC and provides resource managers – Indigenous and Western alike – with dietary information from hundreds of bears across thousands of square kilometres, shedding light on the ecological interconnections of ecology in the expansive bear-salmon-human system…