Publisher Profile
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James F. Dwyer, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Raptor Research
Instructor, Front Range Community College
Research Scientist, EDM International, Inc.
Raptor Research Foundation
The Journal of Raptor Research
BioOne publishing partner since: 2008
Tell us about yourself.
During a summer job on a fishing boat offshore from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, I was amazed at how quickly the hold filled with fish. When I commented on that, a long-time fisherman corrected me: we were catching fewer, smaller fish than in the past. He was focused on lost revenue, but for me, three lightbulbs turned on: (1) My snapshot view was uninformed and incorrect. I needed deeper knowledge and understanding. (2) Humans were doing incredible, invisible damage to the environment. The damage was hidden beneath waves, but it was real. (3) I wanted to be part of a solution. That was my watershed moment for a lifetime of conservation.
I dabbled in field work across various taxa until my life was redirected again. This time, I was mesmerized by an ornithology class. I began working with birds and eventually became involved with the Raptor Research Foundation (RRF) while researching and working to prevent the electrocution of Harris’s Hawks in Arizona. In that project, I especially enjoyed merging ecological (hawk’s ecology), engineering (power lines), and social (crowdsourcing) perspectives to identify and implement solutions that prevented raptor electrocutions. I went to my first RRF meeting to share that experience. The members were so welcoming and inclusive, that I kept going back.
Tell us about your society.
Founded in 1966, the Raptor Research Foundation (RRF) is an international scientific society focused on the accumulation and dissemination of scientific information about raptors. Membership is open to anyone, amateur or professional, with an interest in raptor research and conservation. RRF’s membership consists of over 1000 people in over 50 countries on six continents, forming a global network of raptor experts. Our members include the world’s leading raptor specialists, as well as conservationists, educators, students, and wildlife managers. The RRF organizes the only annual scientific conferences focused specifically on raptor science. Our conferences encourage learning and collaboration by providing educational talks on cutting edge research and networking opportunities for the global community of raptor researchers.
Tell us about your journal.
The Journal of Raptor Research is an international scientific journal dedicated to the dissemination of information on birds of prey. JRR was started in 1967 to provide a repository where RRF members could find the latest science on raptor conservation and management. Then and now, many raptor populations were in serious decline from exposure to pollutants, habitat loss, persecution, and a suite of other factors. Members need information at their fingertips so they can act quickly to address these threats.
Although many of JRR’s articles are technical, JRR’s Conservation Letters are specifically intended to be accessible to scientists, non-scientists, and policy makers, creating a go-to source for summaries of contemporary concerns important to raptor conservation. Conservation Letters provide scientific reviews of matters affecting raptor populations globally. These letters provide enough evidence-based examples for readers to appreciate the scope and prevalence of the concern described, and begin to understand lessons learned and potential solutions.
Tell us about your field.
What are the current trending topics and research areas? What are the biggest challenges researchers in your field are grappling with right now?
Raptor populations are declining. Some are crashing. Some are extirpated, extinct in the wild, or extinct all together. In conservation, our victories are often temporary, but our losses are permanent. Habitat may be protected time and again against a barrage of proposals, only to be lost in the end. That one loss removes habitat permanently, or at least for the foreseeable future. Similarly, a dispersing or migrating raptor must survive every consecutive anthropogenic threat it encounters. In many parts of the world, raptor persecution, particularly shooting, remains a lethal danger despite conservation laws. Power poles pose electrocution risks, and power lines and wind turbines create collision risks. Urban and rural areas can include prey animals sick with rodenticides, pesticides, other toxins, or diseases. Carrion may also be laced with poison, sometimes intentionally, or carrion may create risk of vehicle collision. All of these point-specific threats occur against a background of climate change, increasing storm frequency and intensity, and habitat loss. Every time a raptor successfully evades one of these threats, conservation wins – briefly. But eventually, there is one near miss that isn’t a miss. Nearly every raptor lifespan longevity record closes with an anthropogenic agent of mortality. The biggest challenge raptor conservation faces, is managing all of these threats concurrently across a suite of species.
Tell us about the impact of your society’s work.
The Raptor Research Foundation contributes to raptor conservation and management by bringing its global membership together at annual conferences to share ideas and exchange the latest raptor science and lessons learned. JRR publishes manuscripts in English, but has since 1990 also published abstracts in English and Spanish to increase global accessibility. Beginning in 2026, JRR began encouraging authors to also publish abstracts in the primary language spoken where the research was conducted. Our first few local language abstracts have been published in Japanese, Korean, Greek, and French. Through this initiative, we look forward to JRR’s manuscripts being more accessible to the global community.
Tell us about your society’s partnership with BioOne.
Partnership with BioOne increases JRR’s accessibility, which improves management and conservation of raptor populations globally. That visibility and reach in turn draws authors to JRR, and members to RRF.
Tell us about your participation in BioOne’s Subscribe to Open pilot.
Many of RRF’s members and JRR’s authors work limited funding, often paying page charges from personal funds. JRR routinely waives page charges in these situations, creating a pathway to publication that is free of financial barriers. Until now, however, barrier-free access to those publications has been out of reach. JRR’s Editorial staff is excited to be part of S2O because the partnership will increase the accessibility of our papers, particularly to our global membership. Greater access will facilitate the accumulation and dissemination of scientific information about raptors, directly contributing to improved outcomes in raptor conservation and management.
March 3, 2026