NORTHERN WILDLIFE ECOLOGY & CONSERVATION LAB
Welcome to the NWEC Lab!
My name is Chris Johnson and I am a Professor at the University of Northern British Columbia and the lead researcher in the NWEC Lab. I teach courses in conservation biology, population and community ecology, natural resources planning, and science communication. Our collective research focuses on understanding the relationship between human activities and the distribution and abundance of large mammals found in northern ecosystems. I am involved with a number of provincial and federal committees that consider the planning, assessment, or recovery of threatened species. This includes serving as a member of the national Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
Education and Training
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BSc - University of Victoria (1994) - Geography/Natural Resources Management
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PhD - University of Northern BC (2000) - Natural Resources and Environmental Studies
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PDF - University of Alberta (2000)
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PDF - University of Northern BC (2003)
The work we do...
Those of us in the Northern Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Lab are passionate about understanding and conserving some of Canada's most iconic and threatened species. We apply a wide range of theory and techniques to questions that consider the individual, the population, and the landscape. Although much of our work has focused on caribou, their predators and competitors, recent projects have considered the phylogenetics of tailed frog, the diet of Pacific marten, and the migratory decisions of moose confronting rapidly changing landscapes
We have engaged in studies from Haida Gwaii to the central Arctic to the mountains of southern Québec. Much of our research involves primary data collection, experiencing the world that shapes the ecology, evolution, and persistence of the species we study. However, we also take advantage of data that represent long-term changes in distribution and abundance. That includes the formal applications of local, expert and Indigenous knowledge. Although many of our projects involve contemporary quantitative methods, we work to extend findings to the formal critique and improvement of conservation and environmental policy. Our learning and the impact of our work are dependent on strong and meaningful partnerships with Indigenous, provincial, and federal governments as well as university and nongovernmental collaborators from across Canada.
GET IN TOUCH
Chris Johnson
University of Northern British Columbia
3333 University Way
Prince George, British Columbia
V2K 4T9
250-960-5357