Our History

Avian Conservation and Ecology (ACE) was created in December 2005 by the Society of Canadian Ornithologists and Birds Canada to provide conservation science articles from the “radical middle ground” that is simultaneously basic and applied avian ecology. From the beginning, it aimed to be entirely open-access and deliver to a broad audience at little or no cost, and in a timely fashion. It was also originally focused almost entirely on papers that test rigorous a priori scientific research hypotheses. These guiding principles continue to be followed, particularly the journal’s commitment to address problems and questions related to avian conservation that are based on sound ecological principles and processes. Starting in 2012, the journal’s niche broadened to include descriptive studies describing patterns and trends, so long as the research has strong direct relevance to conservation objectives. The journal has grown splendidly to fill the unique need in avian conservation publishing that it originally set out to fill. It has also won a fiercely loyal following of readers, authors, reviewers, editors, managing editors, and others who firmly believe in the journal’s focus and scope and in its happy all-time commitment to its sole non-profit publisher, The Resilience Alliance.