Jacob Seguin
|
Jacob is interested in how historically-derived resource management systems can impact current management efforts, especially in the context of Indigenous self-determined conservation. Can we overcome historic mistrust and meet contemporary conservation challenges? Are new technologies in northern research scalable to community-led implementation? Can technology work together with Inuit knowledge to answer these important questions?
The Inuit communities of Kuujjuaq and Kangiqsualujjuaq are working with Nunavik Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Organization (NHFTA/Anguvigaq) to develop a beluga population monitoring program at a traditional harvesting location in Ungava Bay, called Marralik-Ungunniavik. Jacob is excited to work with individuals from both communities under the leadership of NHFTA to build a monitoring program that uses Traditional Knowledge, acoustic hydrophones, community observations, eDNA, and traditional harvest activities to support increased Inuit-led research and self-determined conservation. This is in contrast to the existing top-down management systems that have been in effect for over 40 years in this location, and which have resulted in strained relationships between Inuit and various management agencies.
Jacob Loves the north, and people in the north. Between his M.Sc. at Trent and his Ph.D. pursuit at McGill, he worked for Wildlife Conservation Society Canada where he mentored under conservation scientists in partnership with Moose Cree First Nation. He was grateful to see western-style ecology and Indigenous leadership come together to make a difference in a real-world challenge. Jacob has experience studying Ambystoma salamanders, massasauga rattlesnakes, red squirrels, snowshoe hares, Canada lynx, lake sturgeon, wolverines, and more in regions from Maine to the Yukon and everywhere in between. He hopes these experiences will help him contribute to the Inuit-led initiative to monitor belugas in Marralik-Ungunniavik. His broader goal is to contribute to a growing theme of working together in the north.
The Inuit communities of Kuujjuaq and Kangiqsualujjuaq are working with Nunavik Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Organization (NHFTA/Anguvigaq) to develop a beluga population monitoring program at a traditional harvesting location in Ungava Bay, called Marralik-Ungunniavik. Jacob is excited to work with individuals from both communities under the leadership of NHFTA to build a monitoring program that uses Traditional Knowledge, acoustic hydrophones, community observations, eDNA, and traditional harvest activities to support increased Inuit-led research and self-determined conservation. This is in contrast to the existing top-down management systems that have been in effect for over 40 years in this location, and which have resulted in strained relationships between Inuit and various management agencies.
Jacob Loves the north, and people in the north. Between his M.Sc. at Trent and his Ph.D. pursuit at McGill, he worked for Wildlife Conservation Society Canada where he mentored under conservation scientists in partnership with Moose Cree First Nation. He was grateful to see western-style ecology and Indigenous leadership come together to make a difference in a real-world challenge. Jacob has experience studying Ambystoma salamanders, massasauga rattlesnakes, red squirrels, snowshoe hares, Canada lynx, lake sturgeon, wolverines, and more in regions from Maine to the Yukon and everywhere in between. He hopes these experiences will help him contribute to the Inuit-led initiative to monitor belugas in Marralik-Ungunniavik. His broader goal is to contribute to a growing theme of working together in the north.