I am a conservation scientist with research interests in animal behaviour, animal welfare, and applying science to community-driven questions.

My research questions investigate human-wildlife relationships. During my MSc degree, I used an animal welfare perspective to examine how wildlife scientists interact with animals they study. Currently as a PhD student, I work with community partners to examine drivers of variation in wildlife behaviour. Specifically, in collaboration with Nuxalk Nation and BC Parks, I draw on diverse methods in wildlife ecology to examine how grizzly bears might respond to variation in spatial and temporal human activity in an area exposed to ecotourism.

Our work is made possible through the support of Raincoast Conservation Fellowship program, NSERC Doctoral Scholarship, Nuxalk Nation, BC Parks, and the University of Victoria, Department of Geography. I am incredibly grateful to have been part of the Applied Conservation Science Lab over the years.

Publications:

Field, K. A., Moody, J. E., Levi, T., Darimont, C. TSubmitted Wildlife ecotourism does not predispose grizzly bears to subsequent conflict in Nuxalk Territory. Canadian Journal of Zoology.

Field, K. A., Short, M., Moody, J., Artelle, K. A., Bourbonnais, M. L., Paquet, P. C., Darimont, C. T. (2024). Influence of ecotourism on grizzly bear activity depends on salmon abundance in the Atnarko river corridor, Nuxalk Territory. Conservation Science and Practice. Open Access

Field, K. A., Quindazzi, M. J., Schmill, A., & Juanes, F. (2023). Jeffery A. Hutchings: A primer of life histories: ecology, evolution, and application. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. Open Access

Caravaggi, A., Amado, T. F., Brook, R. K., Ciuti, S., Darimont, C. T., Drouilly, M., English, H. M., Field, K. A., Iossa, G., Martin, J. E., McElligott, A. G., Mohammadi, A., Nayeri, D., O’Neill, H. M. K., Paquet, P. C., Périquet, S., Proulx, G., Rabaiotti, D., Recio, M. R., … Wynn‐Grant, R. (2021). On the need for rigorous welfare and methodological reporting for the live capture of large carnivores: A response to de Araujo et al. (2021). Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 12(10), 1793–1799. Open Access.

Field, K. A., Paquet, P. C., Artelle, K., Proulx, G., Brook, R. K., & Darimont, C. T. (2019). Publication reform to safeguard wildlife from researcher harm. PLoS Biology, 17(4), e3000193–e3000193. Open Access.