Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 13

13. Biographical Summary of Report Writers

Dr. Philip McLoughlin has been an active participant at meetings of the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Polar Bear Technical Committee (PBTC) for the past 4 years, and recently served as an invited specialist (Canadian delegation) for the 14th Working Group Meeting of the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group (June 20–24, 2005, Seattle, WA). Philip’s main interest in polar bears lies in the analysis of mark-recapture data, population viability analysis, and the role of sex-biased harvesting in population management. Philip has published numerous papers on polar bears and grizzly bears in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Mitch Taylor has devoted the past 30 years of his life to the scientific study and management of polar bears in Canada. Mitch is author to over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles on the species, largely presenting results of his own field-based research program. Mitch is also an author of the 2002 COSEWIC update on the status of polar bears in Canada. Mitch is the Manager of the Wildlife Research Section of the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Environment, and a long-term member of both the PBTC and IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group.

Ms. Martha Dowsley is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Geography at McGill University under the supervision of Dr. George Wenzel. Her work examines the governance of common property resources, including polar bears. She is currently examining how Inuit perceptions of polar bears are changing. Her experience in the Arctic includes numerous community consultations with Inuit regarding concerns over polar bear population management, and possible effects of climate change on polar bears. Notably, she has conducted more than 70 interviews with elders and active hunters concerning polar bear management, harvesting, and cultural uses. Martha’s research has also included an in-depth review of the Igloolik oral history archives on the traditional use of polar bears by Inuit.

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