Canadian-based literature: implications to conservation and management

AbstractBy surveying where Canadian-based researchers publish and topics treated in Canadian journals, we evaluated if Canadian researchers are well positioned to contribute to national and provincial initiatives on biodiversity. Researchers at Canadian institutions published less than 10% of their work in conservation or management-oriented journals; Canadian journals surveyed do not emphasize applied research, publish few studies on human impacts on wildlife and show a trend towards treating single species. Canadian-based researchers appear less able to make informed decisions involving biodiversity or conservation biology than are American-based researchers. Reduced impetus for such research may derive from lack of extension mandates at academic institutions, management mandates within federal agencies and federal legislation addressing resource management. Conversely, the small people-to-resources ratio, relatively small body of federal legislation, and broad scope of curiosity-driven research provide...