Research Area(s)
- Aboriginal wildlife
- Land and resource management
- Youth education
- Climate change
- Ecosystem monitoring
Brief Biography
Dr. Ryan Brook is the theme leader for Aboriginal Peoples and the Environment in the Indigenous Land Management Institute, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science. He was raised in a farm east of Winnipeg.
Department
Animal and Poultry Science,Indigenous Land Management Institute
Other Affiliations/positions
He is an associate faculty member in the School of Environment and Sustainability and the International Centre for Northern Governance and Development at the University of Saskatchewan.
Research Interests
His research program includes research on wildlife in grassland, prairie parkland, boreal forest, and arctic ecosystems such as feral pigs, elk, farmland moose, white-tailed deer, polar bears, and caribou. His research also addresses the disconnect that can exist between biophysical researchers and stakeholders and the general public by developing ways of incorporating local knowledge, traditional knowledge, and community-based monitoring into long-term research projects.
- Wildlife ecology and health
- Aboriginal community engagement and Traditional Ecological Knowledge
- Farmer knowledge about wildlife
- Youth engagement in Science
- Management of the Wildlife-Livestock Interface
Research on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/SaskatchewanFarmlandMooseProject
http://www.facebook.com/WildHogWatch
http://www.facebook.com/NorthernPrairieElk
http://www.facebook.com/WECELab
Education
Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, October 2007- January 2010
Ph.D., University of Manitoba, 2008, Environment and Geography (thesis defence Sept. 7, 2007)
Masters of Natural Resources Management, University of Manitoba, 2001, Resource Management
B.Sc., University of Manitoba, 1996, Zoology (with distinction)
Selected Recent Publications
F.M. van Beest, P.D. McLoughlin, Mysterud, A., and Brook, R.K. 2015. Functional responses in habitat selection are density dependent. Ecography 38:1-9.
Stolle, K., F. M. van Beest, E. Vander Wal, and Brook, R.K. 2015. Diurnal and nocturnal activity patterns of invasive Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) in Saskatchewan, Canada. Canadian Field-Naturalist 129(1): 76-79.
Brook, R.K., Cattet, M., Darimont, C.T., Paquet, P.C., and Proulx, G. 2015. Maintaining Ethical Standards during Conservation Crises. Canadian Wildlife Biology & Management 4(1): 72-79.
Kost, R.A. and R.K. Brook. 2015. Invaders on the Canadian Prairies: How the region’s feral swine threaten agriculture and conservation. The Wildlife Professional. 9:44-46.
C.J. Dugal, F.M. van Beest, E. Vander Wal, and R.K. Brook. 2013. Targeting hunter effort based on host demography at a fine scale: combining resource selection and kill sites to manage disease risk. Ecology and Evolution 3(12):4265-4277.
Funding Sources
United States Department of Agriculture
Saskatchewan Fish and Wildlife Development Fund
Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
Environment Canada Aboriginal Fund for Species at Risk
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Growing Forward II
Courses
Lecture Courses:
Animal Bioscience 110 Introductory animal bioscience
Animal Science 375 - Animal Agriculture and the Environment
Animal Bioscience 475 Field Studies in Arctic Ecosystems and Aboriginal Peoples
Graduate Courses:
Bioresource Policy, Business & Economics 899 - Aboriginal Land Management Project