Deconstructing the academic narrative: Applying a determinants of health framework to identify the drivers of research on wood bison (Bison bison athabascae)
Abstract Conservation approaches that address complex and dynamic environmental challenges necessitate the dismantling of rigid academic boundaries and building effective interdisciplinary collaborations. The dominance of select disciplinary fields and/or interactions among diverse groups of researc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Ecological Solutions and Evidence |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.70013 |
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| author | Alana Wilcox Sarah Sine André Morrill Craig Stephen Jennifer F. Provencher |
| author_facet | Alana Wilcox Sarah Sine André Morrill Craig Stephen Jennifer F. Provencher |
| author_sort | Alana Wilcox |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Conservation approaches that address complex and dynamic environmental challenges necessitate the dismantling of rigid academic boundaries and building effective interdisciplinary collaborations. The dominance of select disciplinary fields and/or interactions among diverse groups of researchers establishes the research narrative, ultimately guiding academic discussions and lending to conservation initiatives. We applied a determinants of health (DOH) framework to examine how research narratives have approached the health of wood bison (Bison bison athabascae), a species with at‐risk herds facing imminent threats to recovery, and how the potential for clustered narratives creates challenges for a comprehensive view of bison health. We conducted a literature review, coding for whether articles qualitatively or quantitatively analysed wood bison health, or provided contextual information, classifying articles into six distinct DOH. We found that articles principally analysed intrinsic and extrinsic biological factors related to wood bison health, but results were often contextualized in relation to the human expectations related to management, recovery and conservation of wood bison herds. We then examined author and institutional collaborations and timelines for publications of articles on wood bison health. We found that authors published research in multiple years, but authors with a high degree of collaborations were most often affiliated with academic, Canadian federal government or Canadian territorial government institutions. We show that wood bison health considers physical, social and human expectations related at individual wood bison and population levels. Practical implications. Our results also suggest that there are few mechanisms to integrate information across disciplines, which could cause problems for a comprehensive assessment of wood bison health. Nonetheless, interdisciplinary frameworks, such as One Health, that examine the intersection of animal–environment–human health present potential ways forward for the conservation of wood bison. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-de8522222ef04bfd80cf6b072b680fe0 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2688-8319 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Solutions and Evidence |
| spelling | doaj-art-de8522222ef04bfd80cf6b072b680fe02025-08-20T02:40:29ZengWileyEcological Solutions and Evidence2688-83192025-01-0161n/an/a10.1002/2688-8319.70013Deconstructing the academic narrative: Applying a determinants of health framework to identify the drivers of research on wood bison (Bison bison athabascae)Alana Wilcox0Sarah Sine1André Morrill2Craig Stephen3Jennifer F. Provencher4Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Science and Technology Branch Environment and Climate Change Ottawa Ontario CanadaEcotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Science and Technology Branch Environment and Climate Change Ottawa Ontario CanadaEcotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Science and Technology Branch Environment and Climate Change Ottawa Ontario CanadaMcEachran Institute Nanoose Bay British Columbia CanadaEcotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Science and Technology Branch Environment and Climate Change Ottawa Ontario CanadaAbstract Conservation approaches that address complex and dynamic environmental challenges necessitate the dismantling of rigid academic boundaries and building effective interdisciplinary collaborations. The dominance of select disciplinary fields and/or interactions among diverse groups of researchers establishes the research narrative, ultimately guiding academic discussions and lending to conservation initiatives. We applied a determinants of health (DOH) framework to examine how research narratives have approached the health of wood bison (Bison bison athabascae), a species with at‐risk herds facing imminent threats to recovery, and how the potential for clustered narratives creates challenges for a comprehensive view of bison health. We conducted a literature review, coding for whether articles qualitatively or quantitatively analysed wood bison health, or provided contextual information, classifying articles into six distinct DOH. We found that articles principally analysed intrinsic and extrinsic biological factors related to wood bison health, but results were often contextualized in relation to the human expectations related to management, recovery and conservation of wood bison herds. We then examined author and institutional collaborations and timelines for publications of articles on wood bison health. We found that authors published research in multiple years, but authors with a high degree of collaborations were most often affiliated with academic, Canadian federal government or Canadian territorial government institutions. We show that wood bison health considers physical, social and human expectations related at individual wood bison and population levels. Practical implications. Our results also suggest that there are few mechanisms to integrate information across disciplines, which could cause problems for a comprehensive assessment of wood bison health. Nonetheless, interdisciplinary frameworks, such as One Health, that examine the intersection of animal–environment–human health present potential ways forward for the conservation of wood bison.https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.70013bison healthBuffalodeterminants of healthmanagement and conservation |
| spellingShingle | Alana Wilcox Sarah Sine André Morrill Craig Stephen Jennifer F. Provencher Deconstructing the academic narrative: Applying a determinants of health framework to identify the drivers of research on wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) Ecological Solutions and Evidence bison health Buffalo determinants of health management and conservation |
| title | Deconstructing the academic narrative: Applying a determinants of health framework to identify the drivers of research on wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) |
| title_full | Deconstructing the academic narrative: Applying a determinants of health framework to identify the drivers of research on wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) |
| title_fullStr | Deconstructing the academic narrative: Applying a determinants of health framework to identify the drivers of research on wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Deconstructing the academic narrative: Applying a determinants of health framework to identify the drivers of research on wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) |
| title_short | Deconstructing the academic narrative: Applying a determinants of health framework to identify the drivers of research on wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) |
| title_sort | deconstructing the academic narrative applying a determinants of health framework to identify the drivers of research on wood bison bison bison athabascae |
| topic | bison health Buffalo determinants of health management and conservation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.70013 |
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