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Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Ecological Science: A Question of Scale

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dc.contributor.author Gagnon, Catherine A.
dc.contributor.author Berteaux, Dominique
dc.date.accessioned 2010-01-20T17:06:43Z
dc.date.available 2010-01-20T17:06:43Z
dc.date.issued 2009 en_US
dc.identifier.uri https://hdl.handle.net/10535/5385
dc.description.abstract "The benefits and challenges of integrating traditional ecological knowledge and scientific knowledge have led to extensive discussions over the past decades, but much work is still needed to facilitate the articulation and co-application of these two types of knowledge. Through two case studies, we examined the integration of traditional ecological knowledge and scientific knowledge by emphasizing their complementarity across spatial and temporal scales. We expected that combining Inuit traditional ecological knowledge and scientific knowledge would expand the spatial and temporal scales of currently documented knowledge on the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) and the greater snow goose (Chen caerulescens atlantica), two important tundra species. Using participatory approaches in Mittimatalik (also known as Pond Inlet), Nunavut, Canada, we documented traditional ecological knowledge about these species and found that, in fact, it did expand the spatial and temporal scales of current scientific knowledge for local arctic fox ecology. However, the benefits were not as apparent for snow goose ecology, probably because of the similar spatial and temporal observational scales of the two types of knowledge for this species. Comparing sources of knowledge at similar scales allowed us to gain confidence in our conclusions and to identify areas of disagreement that should be studied further. Emphasizing complementarities across scales was more powerful for generating new insights and hypotheses. We conclude that determining the scales of the observations that form the basis for traditional ecological knowledge and scientific knowledge represents a critical step when evaluating the benefits of integrating these two types of knowledge. This is also critical when examining the congruence or contrast between the two types of knowledge for a given subject." en_US
dc.language English en_US
dc.subject protected areas en_US
dc.subject indigenous knowledge en_US
dc.subject Inuit (North American people) en_US
dc.subject arctic regions en_US
dc.subject scale en_US
dc.subject ecology en_US
dc.title Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Ecological Science: A Question of Scale en_US
dc.type Journal Article en_US
dc.type.published published en_US
dc.type.methodology Case Study en_US
dc.coverage.region North America en_US
dc.coverage.country Canada en_US
dc.subject.sector General & Multiple Resources en_US
dc.subject.sector Social Organization en_US
dc.identifier.citationjournal Ecology and Society en_US
dc.identifier.citationvolume 14 en_US
dc.identifier.citationnumber 2 en_US
dc.identifier.citationmonth unknown en_US


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