Learnings from collaborative monitoring of remote wildlife populations: factors affecting changes in number and distribution of nesting Hudson Bay eiders ducks in the Belcher Islands

Anthropogenic pressures are causing a global decline in biodiversity that, in turn, impacts the human communities depending on it. In the conservation effort, efficient management requires up-to-date and accurate information about the population dynamics, habitat requirements, and distribution of organisms. There is an increasing appreciation of the benefits of coproduction and the combination of multiple knowledge systems to increase our understanding of the rapidly changing ecosystems. In this thesis, I used data from a long-term collaborative monitoring program involving Inuit and federal government researchers to study the factors affecting changes in population size and nesting distribution of a harvested sea duck in south-eastern Hudson Bay, the common eider (Somateria mollissima). I also highlight practical challenges and propose solutions related to cultural and institutional barriers that impede the delivery of respectful approaches and best practices in collaborative research programs involving large and regulated institutions and remote Indigenous communities.