ESR

Endangered Species Research

ESR is a gold Open Access research journal on all endangered forms of life on Earth, the threats faced by species and their habitats, and the necessary steps that must be undertaken to ensure their conservation.

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Online: ISSN 1613-4796

Print: ISSN 1863-5407

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr

Impact Factor2.9 (JCR 2025 release)

Article Acceptance Rate68.4% (2024)

Average Time in Review178 days (2024)

Total Annual Downloads486.450 (2025)

Volume contents
Endang Species Res 54:285-310 (2024)

Global research priorities for historical ecology to inform conservation

ABSTRACT: Historical ecology draws on a broad range of information sources and methods to provide insight into ecological and social change, especially over the past ∼12000 yr. While its results are often relevant to conservation and restoration, insights from its diverse disciplines, environments, and geographies have frequently remained siloed or underrepresented, restricting their full potential. Here, scholars and practitioners working in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments on 6 continents and various archipelagoes synthesize knowledge from the fields of history, anthropology, paleontology, and ecology with the goal of describing global research priorities for historical ecology to influence conservation. We used a structured decision-making process to identify and address questions in 4 key priority areas: (1) methods and concepts, (2) knowledge co-production and community engagement, (3) policy and management, and (4) climate change impacts. This work highlights the ways that historical ecology has developed and matured in its use of novel information sources, efforts to move beyond extractive research practices and toward knowledge co-production, and application to management challenges including climate change. We demonstrate the ways that this field has brought together researchers across disciplines, connected academics to practitioners, and engaged communities to create and apply knowledge of the past to address the challenges of our shared future.

KEYWORDS

Loren McClenachan (Corresponding Author)

  • Department of History, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
  • School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
lorenm@uvic.ca

Torben Rick (Co-author)

  • Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA

Ruth H. Thurstan (Co-author)

  • Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK

Andrew Trant (Co-author)

  • School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada

Peter S. Alagona (Co-author)

  • Environmental Studies Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA

Heidi K. Alleway (Co-author)

  • The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA 22203, USA

Chelsey Armstrong (Co-author)

  • Indigenous Studies, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada

Rebecca Bliege Bird (Co-author)

  • Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16801, USA

Nadia T. Rubio-Cisneros (Co-author)

  • Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza 66450, Mexico
  • Mar Sustentable Ciencia y Conservación, Monterrey 66450, Mexico

Miguel Clavero (Co-author)

  • Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Sevilla 41092, Spain

André C. Colonese (Co-author)

  • Department of Prehistory and Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona 08193, Spain

Katie Cramer (Co-author)

  • Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA

Ancilleno O. Davis (Co-author)

  • The Bahamas National Trust, Nassau, The Bahamas

Joshua Drew (Co-author)

  • Department of Environmental Biology, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA

Michelle M. Early-Capistrán (Co-author)

  • Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA

Graciela Gil-Romera (Co-author)

  • Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Zaragoza 50059, Spain

Molly Grace (Co-author)

  • Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RB, UK

Marco B. A. Hatch (Co-author)

  • Environmental Sciences, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA

Eric Higgs (Co-author)

  • School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada

Kira Hoffman (Co-author)

  • Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
  • Bulkley Valley Research Centre, Smithers, BC V0J 2N0, Canada

J. B. C. Jackson (Co-author)

  • Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA

Antonieta Jerardino (Co-author)

  • Department of Anthropology & Archaeology, University of South Africa, Pretoria 0028, South Africa

Michelle J. LeFebvre (Co-author)

  • Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA

Heike K. Lotze (Co-author)

  • Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada

Ryan S. Mohammed (Co-author)

  • Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA

Naia Morueta-Holme (Co-author)

  • Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

Catalina Munteanu (Co-author)

  • Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany

Alexis M. Mychajliw (Co-author)

  • Department of Biology and Program in Environmental Studies, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA

Bonnie Newsom (Co-author)

  • Department of Anthropology, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA

Aaron O’Dea (Co-author)

  • Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa 0843-03092, Republic of Panamá
  • Sistema Nacional de Investigación, Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovación, Panamá City 0801, Republic of Panamá

Daniel Pauly (Co-author)

  • Sea Around Us, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada

Péter Szabó (Co-author)

  • Department of Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, 252 43 Průhonice, Czech Republic
  • Department of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Masaryk University, 252 43 Průhonice, Czech Republic

Jimena Torres (Co-author)

  • Cape Horn International Center, Universidad de Magallanes, Cabo de Hornos, Chile
  • Millennium Nucleus Program, UPWELL Foundation, Chile

John Waldman (Co-author)

  • Queens College and Graduate School, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367, USA

Catherine West (Co-author)

  • Department of Anthropology and Archaeology Program, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA

Liqiang Xu (Co-author)

  • School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Anhui 230036, PR China

Hirokazu Yasuoka (Co-author)

  • Center for African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8304, Japan

Philine S. E. zu Ermgassen (Co-author)

  • Changing Oceans Group, School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, UK

Kyle S. Van Houtan (Co-author)

  • Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA