Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Ecological Science: a Question of Scale
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...
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Resilience Alliance
2009
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f0cffda1d2c84c2b9de99444cf05f0f7 2023-05-15T13:19:53+02:00 Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Ecological Science: a Question of Scale Catherine A. Gagnon Dominique Berteaux 2009-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02923-140219 https://doaj.org/article/f0cffda1d2c84c2b9de99444cf05f0f7 EN eng Resilience Alliance http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol14/iss2/art19/ https://doaj.org/toc/1708-3087 1708-3087 doi:10.5751/ES-02923-140219 https://doaj.org/article/f0cffda1d2c84c2b9de99444cf05f0f7 Ecology and Society, Vol 14, Iss 2, p 19 (2009) Arctic Inuit protected area scale Chen caerulescens atlantica traditional ecological knowledge Vulpes lagopus Alopex lagopus local ecological knowledge scientific knowledge Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2009 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02923-140219 2022-12-31T05:03:05Z 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. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alopex lagopus Arctic Fox Arctic inuit Nunavut Pond Inlet Tundra Vulpes lagopus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Canada Nunavut Pond Inlet ENVELOPE(-77.960,-77.960,72.699,72.699) Ecology and Society 14 2 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic Inuit protected area scale Chen caerulescens atlantica traditional ecological knowledge Vulpes lagopus Alopex lagopus local ecological knowledge scientific knowledge Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic Inuit protected area scale Chen caerulescens atlantica traditional ecological knowledge Vulpes lagopus Alopex lagopus local ecological knowledge scientific knowledge Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 Catherine A. Gagnon Dominique Berteaux Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Ecological Science: a Question of Scale |
topic_facet |
Arctic Inuit protected area scale Chen caerulescens atlantica traditional ecological knowledge Vulpes lagopus Alopex lagopus local ecological knowledge scientific knowledge Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Catherine A. Gagnon Dominique Berteaux |
author_facet |
Catherine A. Gagnon Dominique Berteaux |
author_sort |
Catherine A. Gagnon |
title |
Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Ecological Science: a Question of Scale |
title_short |
Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Ecological Science: a Question of Scale |
title_full |
Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Ecological Science: a Question of Scale |
title_fullStr |
Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Ecological Science: a Question of Scale |
title_full_unstemmed |
Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Ecological Science: a Question of Scale |
title_sort |
integrating traditional ecological knowledge and ecological science: a question of scale |
publisher |
Resilience Alliance |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02923-140219 https://doaj.org/article/f0cffda1d2c84c2b9de99444cf05f0f7 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-77.960,-77.960,72.699,72.699) |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Nunavut Pond Inlet |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Nunavut Pond Inlet |
genre |
Alopex lagopus Arctic Fox Arctic inuit Nunavut Pond Inlet Tundra Vulpes lagopus |
genre_facet |
Alopex lagopus Arctic Fox Arctic inuit Nunavut Pond Inlet Tundra Vulpes lagopus |
op_source |
Ecology and Society, Vol 14, Iss 2, p 19 (2009) |
op_relation |
http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol14/iss2/art19/ https://doaj.org/toc/1708-3087 1708-3087 doi:10.5751/ES-02923-140219 https://doaj.org/article/f0cffda1d2c84c2b9de99444cf05f0f7 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02923-140219 |
container_title |
Ecology and Society |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
2 |
_version_ |
1766350071618600960 |