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Increasing abundance of Snow and Ross’s Geese ( Anser caerulescens and Anser rossii ; kangut and qaaraarjuk in Inuktut, respectively), referred to collectively as light geese, has caused alterations in various Canadian Arctic ecosystems. Inuit have harvested light geese for generations and hold knowledge that offers unique insights into the ecology and population dynamics of these species. By combining interviews with 40 light goose harvesters and Elders with results from aerial surveys in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, we (1) describe changes in light goose distribution and abundance between the 1940s and the 2010s, (2) explore the effects of light geese on local ecosystems, and (3) identify factors driving these changes. Inuit observations gathered through lifetimes of land-based observations and results from aerial surveys concurred that (1) light goose numbers have increased regionally since the 1940s, and (2) light goose numbers decreased in several colonies within the Kivalliq region between the 1960s–1990s and the 2010s, including in two Migratory Bird Sanctuaries. Inuit have noted that habitat loss due to overgrazing and grubbing has pushed light geese to abandon altered habitats in favor of new breeding and foraging sites. Inuit observations also indicated that light geese have altered their migration behavior (how, when, and where they migrate and nest) in response to earlier spring snowmelt, the drying of ponds and lakes, and an increased number of predators. These conclusions add substantially to overall understanding about light geese in regions where aerial surveys are expensive and infrequent, and scientific studies are limited in geographic coverage.

Insights from Indigenous and Western ways of knowing can improve how we understand, manage, and restore complex freshwater social–ecological systems. While many frameworks exist, specific methods to guide researchers and practitioners in bringing Indigenous and Western knowledge systems together in a ‘good way’ are harder to find. A scoping review of academic and grey literature yielded 138 sources, from which data were extracted using two novel frameworks. The EAUX (Equity, Access, Usability, and eXchange) framework, with a water-themed acronym, summarizes important principles when braiding knowledge systems. These principles demonstrate the importance of recognizing Indigenous collaborators as equal partners, honouring data sovereignty, centring Indigenous benefits, and prioritizing relationships. The A-to-A (Axiology and Ontology, Epistemology and Methodology, Data Gathering, Analysis and Synthesis, and Application) framework organizes methods for braiding knowledge systems at different stages of a project. Methods are also presented using themes: open your mind to different values and worldviews; prioritize relationships with collaborators (human and other-than-human); recognize that different ways of regarding the natural world are valid; and remember that each Indigenous partner is unique. Appropriate principles and practices are context-dependent, so collaborators must listen carefully and with an open mind to identify braiding methods that are best for the project.

The notion of convergent and transdisciplinary integration, which is about braiding together different knowledge systems, is becoming the mantra of numerous initiatives aimed at tackling pressing water challenges. Yet, the transition from rhetoric to actual implementation is impeded by incongruence in semantics, methodologies, and discourse among disciplinary scientists and societal actors. Here, we embrace “integrated modeling”—both quantitatively and qualitatively—as a vital exploratory instrument to advance such integration, providing a means to navigate complexity and manage the uncertainty associated with understanding, diagnosing, predicting, and governing human‐water systems. From this standpoint, we confront disciplinary barriers by offering seven focused reviews and syntheses of existing and missing links across the frontiers distinguishing surface and groundwater hydrology, engineering, social sciences, economics, Indigenous and place‐based knowledge, and studies of other interconnected natural systems such as the atmosphere, cryosphere, and ecosphere. While there are, arguably, no bounds to the pursuit of inclusivity in representing the spectrum of natural and human processes around water resources, we advocate that integrated modeling can provide a focused approach to delineating the scope of integration, through the lens of three fundamental questions: (a) What is the modeling “purpose”? (b) What constitutes a sound “boundary judgment”? and (c) What are the “critical uncertainties” and their compounding effects? More broadly, we call for investigating what constitutes warranted “systems complexity,” as opposed to unjustified “computational complexity” when representing complex natural and human‐natural systems, with careful attention to interdependencies and feedbacks, scaling issues, nonlinear dynamics and thresholds, hysteresis, time lags, and legacy effects. Key Points For transformative research and insight generation, the modeling paradigm needs to shift from predictive to diagnostic and exploratory Breaking disciplinary barriers requires directing attention to “systems complexity” rather than “computational complexity” For successful integrated modeling of human‐water systems, sensitivity analysis and multi‐fidelity modeling are essential

Background Freshwater ecosystems are globally imperiled, with monitored vertebrate populations showing an average 83% decline since 1970. Braiding Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) with Western science is increasingly recognized by global bodies like the IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) as essential for achieving the transformative change needed to address this crisis. This systematic map provides a comprehensive, global synthesis of the diverse methodologies used for this purpose by answering the primary question: What is the evidence base for methodologies (approaches, frameworks, or models) that braid the TEK of Indigenous and local communities with Western science in the planning, management, monitoring, or assessment of freshwater social-ecological systems? The resulting synthesis is intended to empower researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to design more effective and equitable management strategies. Methods Following Collaboration for Environmental Evidence (CEE) guidelines, our protocol employs a multi-layered search strategy across three core bibliographic databases, targeted grey literature sources (including dissertations and key organizational websites), and a supplementary review-centric snowballing search. Records will be screened for eligibility in a two-stage process (Title/Abstract and Full-text) with robust consistency checking to ensure transparency and minimize bias. Data from included articles will be coded using a detailed protocol designed to answer our secondary questions and build a typology of knowledge braiding methodologies. The systematic map’s outputs will include a narrative synthesis identifying knowledge gaps and clusters, a comprehensive public database of included studies, and a suite of interactive data visualizations.

In this paper, we reflect on an emerging community-based partnership rooted in place-based reparative research. Braiding knowledges (Atalay, 2012) from Nbisiing Anishinaabeg communities, northern Ontario universities, and multi-scalar museums, the partnership focuses on repatriation, reparative environmental histories, and action-based research in the context of settler colonialism and climate change. We reflect on ongoing projects that attempt to put Anishinaabe gikendaasowin (knowledge) into action alongside historical geographical research. We discuss how the partnership resonates with community geography values of relationship, collaboration, equity, and reciprocity, and urge non-Indigenous geographers to acknowledge how Indigenous knowledges and approaches have shaped these ideas long before geography became a discipline. We contend that historical geographers have a deeper role to play in community geography scholarship, citing examples of two projects related to (1) repatriation of Anishinaabeg cultural heritage and (2) storymapping through historical Geographic Information Systems (HGIS). However, we argue, geographers must continue to acknowledge their own positionality in a discipline that was built through settler colonial violence and knowledge production. Finally, we reflect on the role of academic institutions in facilitating First Nation-university-museum partnerships through access to funding, space, and databases, while addressing the challenges of relying on institutional support for reparatory and decolonizing projects.

The active-channel planform adjustments that have occurred along the Centa, lower Arroscia and lower Neva rivers since 1930, along with the riverbed channelization processes and the land-use and land-cover changes in disconnected riverine areas, were investigated through a multitemporal analysis based on remote sensing and geographical information systems (GIS). These watercourses flow through the largest Ligurian alluvial-coastal plain in a completely anthropogenic landscape. This research is based on the integrated use of consolidated and innovative metrics for riverbed planform analysis. Specific indices were introduced to assess active-channel lateral migration in relation to the active-channel area abandonment and formation processes. The Arroscia and Neva riverbeds experienced narrowing, progressive stabilization, and braiding phenomena disappearance from 1930 to the early 1970s, and then slight narrowing up to the late 1980s. Subsequently, generalized stability was observed. Conversely, the Centa was not affected by relevant planform changes. Recently, all rivers underwent a slight to very slight width increase triggered by the November 2016 high-magnitude flood. The active-channel adjustments outlined in this paper reflect the relevant role in conditioning the river morphology and dynamics played by channelization works built from the 1920s to the early 1970s. They (i) narrowed, straightened, and stabilized the riverbed and (ii) reduced the floodable surface over the valley-floor. Thus, large disconnected riverine areas were occupied by human activities and infrastructures, resulting in a progressive increase in vulnerable elements exposed to hydrogeomorphic hazards. The outlined morphological dynamics (i) display significant differences in terms of chronology, type, and magnitude of active-channel planform adjustments with respect to the medium- and short-term morphological evolution of most Italian rivers and (ii) reflect the widespread urbanization of Ligurian major valley floors that occurred over the 20th century. The outcomes from this study represent an essential knowledge base from a river management perspective; the novel metrics enlarge the spectrum of available GIS tools for active-channel planform analysis.

Sedimentary DNA (sedDNA), a form of environmental DNA (eDNA) shed by aquatic organisms and preserved in sediment, is crucial for reconstructing historical community compositions in aquatic ecosystems. In Cowpar Lake (Dene name: Doghostú), Alberta, a significant landslide event in the early 1940s CE impacted the lake's geochemistry and fish populations, as documented by Indigenous Knowledge from the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation and corroborated by targeted fish sedDNA analyses. The present study used 18S rRNA and cytochrome oxidase I (COI) genes for DNA metabarcoding of a sediment core from Cowpar Lake to assess the effect of the documented landslide and to reconstruct the historical community composition of eukaryotic functional trophic groups, including photoautotrophs, mixotrophs, parasites, and consumers. Between 1948 and 1956 CE, a notable shift in community composition occurred, with a decline in the alpha diversity of eukaryotic amplicon sequence variants. The increased primary productivity and terrestrial organic input post‐1950 is correlated with an increased diversity of phototrophs and mixotrophs, suggesting potential algal blooms. While parasite diversity remained stable, consumer diversity declined, likely due to increased microbial respiration of organic matter, reducing oxygen levels and making the lake less hospitable for consumers like whitefish, which eventually disappeared in the lake. The reconstructed eukaryotic community profiles from sedDNA were consistent with Indigenous Knowledge of natural changes around the lake. The present study highlights the potential of braiding sedDNA data with Indigenous Knowledge to reconstruct long‐term changes in aquatic communities, offering high‐resolution baseline data for environmental monitoring and a deeper understanding of how freshwater systems respond to natural and human‐induced impacts. The study uses environmental DNA embedded in lake sediment cores to reconstruct historical community composition of eukaryotic functional trophic groups. Cowpar Lake is located in the Athabasca Oil Sands region that has experienced natural and anthropogenic impacts. The present study highlights the potential of braiding sedDNA data with Indigenous Knowledge to reconstruct long‐term changes in aquatic communities.

In industry, manufacturing has a huge imprint on structural design; which particularly holds for composites. This is caused by complex interaction of geometry, process parameters and material quantities e.g., fiber orientation. This interaction yields a wide variety of feasible designs, which severely differ in costs and structural performance, measured in mass, stiffness and strength. In order to cope most effectively with this complexity, this paper discusses a weak artificial intelligence, emulating human expertise on composite manufacturing. This approach is extended such that the used knowledge-based system is capable of providing a reason for having determined a certain level of manufacturing effort. Moreover, this extension also provides advice pointing into the direction of optimal improvement. These novelties may be used during designing, optimization and post-processing. These three cases are herein discussed by applying it onto an automotive structure.