Call for Papers
Indigenous and cross-cultural wildlife research in Australia
Guest Editors:
Jack Pascoe, University of Melbourne, Yuin, living on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Land
Stephen van Leeuwen, Curtin University, Wardandi Noongar, living on Wadjuk Noongar Boodja
Marlee Hutton, Kimberley Land Council, Bardi Jawi, living on Yawuru Land
Emilie Ens, Macquarie University, Living on Dharug Land
Hannah Cliff, Indigenous Desert Alliance, Living on Wadjuk Noongar Boodja
Sarah Legge, Charles Darwin University, Living on Bundjalung Land
Wildlife Research invites papers on Indigenous knowledge, ecology, management and conservation of wild animals and their habitats. We also encourage work that highlights the expert Indigenous Knowledge of fauna and Country. Submissions can take the form of original research papers, reviews, or perspective articles. The latter could include interviews with respected Elders or knowledge holders.
Overview: The rights, responsibilities and expertise of Indigenous Australians in Caring for Country are increasingly acknowledged in policy and management. Likewise, Traditional Ecological and Biocultural perspectives are becoming more prominent in applied ecological research. Indigenous groups are developing and addressing their own research priorities, thus increasingly driving research agendas rather than responding to requests for collaboration from non-Indigenous scientists. The growing leadership of Indigenous Australians across a range of applied ecological research is fuelling the growth of cross-cultural (or two-way, or right-way) science.
This special issue aims to recognise and celebrate the leadership and collaboration of Indigenous Australians in wildlife research, and to showcase how this is leading to fresh insights for contemporary conservation and wildlife management.
Key topics: We invite contributions from Indigenous scientists and groups, and from collaborations between Indigenous people and groups and other scientists, who are carrying out research on themes that align broadly with the charter of the journal, which focuses on the ecology, management and conservation of wild animals and their habitats1. We encourage work that highlights the expert participation of Indigenous Australians and the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge of animals and Country. Research themes could cover:
- Indigenous, ecological and/or biocultural research on native animal species (including terrestrial, freshwater, marine, vertebrates or invertebrates) and their habitats.
- Impacts and management of fire, feral animals, diseases, weeds, and other threats including climate change on fauna and/or their habitat.
- Governance, design and implementation of Indigenous or cross-cultural research and monitoring of fauna and their habitat.
- Cultural governance of wildlife management.
- The growth of Indigenous-led fauna science in Australia.
Submission deadline: 31 March 2024
More information is available in the attached Information sheet (PDF 227KB). If you have a manuscript that you think may suit this special issue, please get in touch with one of us guest editors to discuss your idea. As well as being able to confirm the paper is potentially suitable, we would like to make the process as efficient as possible by having a good idea what is coming down the pipes in a few months time. Submissions will undergo the usual rigorous peer-review process. Online submission is through ScholarOne, which can be accessed by clicking the “Submit Article” link on the Journal’s home page: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/csiro-wr. You will need to select “Indigenous Wildlife Research” from the dropdown menu within ScholarOne during the submission process. Your paper should conform to the Author Instructions at https://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/forauthors/authorinstructions.
Guest Editors:
Dr. Peter Coventry (University of York, UK)
Dr. Graziella Iossa (University of Lincoln, UK)
Prof. Piran White (York University, UK)
Wildlife Research invites papers on the interactions between wildlife and human health. Papers may be research articles, literature reviews, or forum articles addressing policy, practice and innovation.
Overview: Expanding human populations and pressures on the environment bring greater contacts with wildlife. Human disturbance of ecosystems can have negative effects on ecosystem functioning and can increase the risks of interactions with wildlife having negative consequences. The threat of wildlife as a source for emerging diseases has received much attention recently in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wildlife populations are also perceived as posing threats to human interests such as damage to property, physical attack, and the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Much previous research has focused on human-wildlife interactions as ‘conflict’ and how these conflicts should be managed. However, management of wildlife populations to reduce conflict is seldom wholly successful and can generate undesired outcomes, for example in relation to non-target species or different sectors of the human population. Over the last couple of decades, there has been increasing research into the benefits that wildlife populations can bring to people. Wildlife may play a key role in ecosystem functions and services and interactions with wildlife can provide a range of benefits to human health and wellbeing. The recognition that human, animal and environmental health are inextricably linked, has contributed to the concept of ‘One Health’, the idea that wildlife and the environment can be managed in a way that protects the wellbeing of wildlife but also promotes human health and wellbeing. Local application of the One Health approach can also link to the broader concept of ‘Planetary Health’, since interactions between humans and wildlife at local scales may be direct or indirect responses to, or indicators of, wider-scale issues such as land use change, forest loss or degradation, changing climates or displaced populations.
This Special Issue will explore the positive and negative consequences of human-wildlife interactions for human and planetary health and wellbeing. It will consider the opportunities and challenges associated with managing human-wildlife interactions to enhance the health and wellbeing of people, wildlife and the environment. In doing so, it will consider how different disciplines can be brought together to yield new insights into the diverse benefits that wildlife can bring. It will also ask to what extent holistic concepts such as One Health and Planetary Health can contribute to a new approach to understanding and managing human-wildlife interactions in the future and highlight ways in which the co-existence of humans and wildlife can bring mutual benefits.
Key topics: We are interested in receiving papers that engage with the following topics (or other areas of relevance to wildlife and health):
- Urban wildlife, green spaces, health and wellbeing
- Impacts of wildlife on human physical and mental health
- The role of wildlife as hosts or vectors of infectious disease for humans
- The role of wildlife in antimicrobial resistance
- Pests, invasive species and human health
- One Health approaches to wildlife management
- Wildlife, human and planetary health
Submission deadline: 31 December 2022
Papers that take an interdisciplinary approach and/or consider these challenges in the context of wider environmental challenges such as changing climates, land use change and wider environmental changes are particularly welcomed. Submissions will undergo the usual rigorous peer-review process and will be published Online Early as they are accepted. Please contact Piran White for additional information or questions.
