Dr. Jean Polfus

New Scientist, December 14, 2016Print

URL: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23231041-300-reindeer-riddle-how-do-you-tell-caribou-apart/

Studying indigenous names for the animals may help us clear up a decades-long mix-up over caribou classification and reverse population decline.

Edge North, May 13, 2016Print

URL: https://edgenorth.ca/article/1512-rooting-the-caribou-family-tree

A revealing new caribou study shows how science and traditional knowledge can come together with fascinating results.

Inuvik Drum, November 26, 2015Print

URL: http://cari.cc.umanitoba.ca/jeanpolfus/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/NEWINUVIK_polfus.pdf

Story on a public presentation on caribou research given in Inuvik, Northwest Territories.

American Scientist, January 16, 2016Print

URL: http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/num2/drawn-to-caribou/1

In Canada’s Northwest Territories, an ecologist is replacing lab notes with sketches that blend genetic research with traditional ecological knowledge.

Wildlife Professional, September 8, 2015Print

An article published in the Wildlife Professional (Fall 2015 Vol 9 No. 3: 28-32) on collaborative caribou research in the Northwest Territories.

BBCEarth, November 16, 2016Online

URL: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161115-there-may-be-a-type-of-caribou-that-science-never-noticed

In the Sahtú region of Canada, science has identified three distinct groups of caribou – but the local people believe there is a secret fourth caribou.

Wild Fir Tree, February 15, 2017Online

URL: http://www.wildfirtree.ca/2017/02/the-northern-living-series-jean-polfus.html

In our forth interview for the Northern Living Series we hear from Jean Polfus, a postdoctoral fellow, who studies caribou while living in Tulı́t'a, Northwest Territories along with her husband Joe and their newborn son Tristan. Here she shares her experience of living in a small, fly-in community in the heart of Canada's true north, touching on life with 3 hours of daylight, northern childbirth, and Dene celebrations...

Arctic Deeply, February 2, 2017Online

URL: https://www.newsdeeply.com/arctic/community/2017/02/02/the-art-and-science-of-studying-caribou

Profile as part of the "Emerging Leaders in Arctic Research" series.

Arctic Deeply, December 8, 2016Online

URL: https://www.newsdeeply.com/arctic/articles/2016/12/08/sixteen-young-leaders-who-will-influence-the-future-of-the-arctic

Meet the people who stand apart when it comes to improving education, fighting climate change, boosting international collaboration and revitalizing Indigenous culture in the Arctic. They are the ones we’ll be watching in the years to come.

Ensia.com, May 31, 2016Online

URL: http://ensia.com/features/researchers-around-the-world-are-learning-from-indigenous-communities-heres-why-thats-a-good-thing/

From Canada’s Far North to Australia, pursuing a more respectful relationship between science and traditional knowledge.

Northern Journal, June 10, 2013Online

URL: https://norj.ca/2013/06/sahtu-caribou-study-looks-for-genetic-links/

Scientists are one step closer to unlocking answers surrounding the mysterious genetic pool of woodland and barren ground caribou in the Sahtu region following a large community effort to collect and submit scat samples over the winter.

Northern Journal, March 24, 2014Online

URL: https://norj.ca/2014/03/new-species-at-risk-book-comes-out-in-dene-languages/

Aboriginal language is being recognized in a big way in the Sahtu this month with the final touches going on a brand new book written in multiple Dene languages about species at risk in the region.

Last Word on Nothing, July 29, 2016Online

URL: http://www.lastwordonnothing.com/2016/07/29/how-to-name-a-caribou/

Few species are more frustrating to taxonomists than the North American caribou. Ranging from the Canadian Arctic to the Great Lakes, caribou vary enormously in size, color, antler shape, habitat, and behavior. For more than two centuries, scientists have argued over the identities and distributions of caribou subspecies and populations, and while they now generally agree on the existence of four North American subspecies, naming criteria remains controversial and, in some places, wildly inconsistent.

CBC North, October 27, 2013Online

URL: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/caribou-poo-sought-by-research-team-1.2253558?cmp=rss

A new research study is aiming to learn about caribou herds by analyzing their droppings.

Arctic Deeply, May 24, 2016Online

URL: https://www.newsdeeply.com/arctic/articles/2016/05/24/caribou-study-merges-dna-and-traditional-knowledge

The integration of Dene traditional knowledge into a genetic study of the different types of caribou in the Sahtu region of the Northwest Territories winds up providing some surprising results.

Breaking Bio, February 15, 2016Online

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB1A4C8VvY0

Jean Polfus is a PhD Candidate at the University of Manitoba, and joins us from the edge of the Arctic to talk about her research on caribou ecology and evolution. We also discuss the role of traditional knowledge and native peoples in studying northern ecology, and how science needs more art.

Arctic Deeply, June 10, 2016Online

URL: https://www.newsdeeply.com/arctic/articles/2016/06/10/a-lesson-from-indigenous-communities

From Canada’s Far North to Australia, researchers around the world are pursuing a more respectful relationship between science and traditional knowledge. Here’s why that’s a good thing.