Linking subsistence harvest diversity and productivity to adaptive capacity in an Alaskan food sharing network
Abstract Background Although anthropogenic climate change poses existential challenges for Indigenous communities in the Arctic, these challenges are not entirely unprecedented. Over many generations, Arctic peoples have developed a wide range of behavioral strategies to navigate environmental chang...
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crwiley:10.1002/ajhb.23573 2024-09-15T18:02:26+00:00 Linking subsistence harvest diversity and productivity to adaptive capacity in an Alaskan food sharing network Scaggs, Shane A. Gerkey, Drew McLaughlin, Katherine R. National Science Foundation National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23573 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ajhb.23573 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ajhb.23573 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/am-pdf/10.1002/ajhb.23573 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#am http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor American Journal of Human Biology volume 33, issue 4 ISSN 1042-0533 1520-6300 journal-article 2021 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23573 2024-07-23T04:13:06Z Abstract Background Although anthropogenic climate change poses existential challenges for Indigenous communities in the Arctic, these challenges are not entirely unprecedented. Over many generations, Arctic peoples have developed a wide range of behavioral strategies to navigate environmental change and uncertainty, and these strategies provide a foundation for contemporary adaptation. Aims In this article, we focus on mixed cash‐subsistence economies and the social networks that underlie them in Alaska. The patterns of food production, labor exchange, and food sharing in subsistence‐oriented communities throughout Alaska are driven by the productivity of keystone households who regularly harvest and share resources within and between communities. Materials & Methods Building on previous research suggesting the critical importance of these networks to community resilience, we use network analysis to investigate whether patterns in resource transfers between households are associated with subsistence harvest diversity—the diversity of species harvested by a household unit. We use exponential random graph models to describe the structure of a sharing network from Aniak, Alaska, and model the links between harvest productivity, harvest diversity, and household position in this network. Results Our results indicate that both productivity and diversity are positively associated with network connections, and that productivity alone provides an incomplete model of network structure. Discussion We suggest that subsistence harvest diversity may play a unique role in supporting adaptive capacity and resilience by maintaining the productivity of keystone households despite changing environments and sustaining social network structures that circulate resources throughout the community. Harvest diversity may also serve as a broad indicator of Indigenous ecological knowledge and a tangible representation of cultural practices, values, and worldviews that underlie subsistence in Alaska. Conclusion Greater attention to ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Climate change Alaska Wiley Online Library American Journal of Human Biology 33 4 |
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English |
description |
Abstract Background Although anthropogenic climate change poses existential challenges for Indigenous communities in the Arctic, these challenges are not entirely unprecedented. Over many generations, Arctic peoples have developed a wide range of behavioral strategies to navigate environmental change and uncertainty, and these strategies provide a foundation for contemporary adaptation. Aims In this article, we focus on mixed cash‐subsistence economies and the social networks that underlie them in Alaska. The patterns of food production, labor exchange, and food sharing in subsistence‐oriented communities throughout Alaska are driven by the productivity of keystone households who regularly harvest and share resources within and between communities. Materials & Methods Building on previous research suggesting the critical importance of these networks to community resilience, we use network analysis to investigate whether patterns in resource transfers between households are associated with subsistence harvest diversity—the diversity of species harvested by a household unit. We use exponential random graph models to describe the structure of a sharing network from Aniak, Alaska, and model the links between harvest productivity, harvest diversity, and household position in this network. Results Our results indicate that both productivity and diversity are positively associated with network connections, and that productivity alone provides an incomplete model of network structure. Discussion We suggest that subsistence harvest diversity may play a unique role in supporting adaptive capacity and resilience by maintaining the productivity of keystone households despite changing environments and sustaining social network structures that circulate resources throughout the community. Harvest diversity may also serve as a broad indicator of Indigenous ecological knowledge and a tangible representation of cultural practices, values, and worldviews that underlie subsistence in Alaska. Conclusion Greater attention to ... |
author2 |
National Science Foundation National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Scaggs, Shane A. Gerkey, Drew McLaughlin, Katherine R. |
spellingShingle |
Scaggs, Shane A. Gerkey, Drew McLaughlin, Katherine R. Linking subsistence harvest diversity and productivity to adaptive capacity in an Alaskan food sharing network |
author_facet |
Scaggs, Shane A. Gerkey, Drew McLaughlin, Katherine R. |
author_sort |
Scaggs, Shane A. |
title |
Linking subsistence harvest diversity and productivity to adaptive capacity in an Alaskan food sharing network |
title_short |
Linking subsistence harvest diversity and productivity to adaptive capacity in an Alaskan food sharing network |
title_full |
Linking subsistence harvest diversity and productivity to adaptive capacity in an Alaskan food sharing network |
title_fullStr |
Linking subsistence harvest diversity and productivity to adaptive capacity in an Alaskan food sharing network |
title_full_unstemmed |
Linking subsistence harvest diversity and productivity to adaptive capacity in an Alaskan food sharing network |
title_sort |
linking subsistence harvest diversity and productivity to adaptive capacity in an alaskan food sharing network |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23573 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ajhb.23573 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ajhb.23573 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/am-pdf/10.1002/ajhb.23573 |
genre |
Climate change Alaska |
genre_facet |
Climate change Alaska |
op_source |
American Journal of Human Biology volume 33, issue 4 ISSN 1042-0533 1520-6300 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#am http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23573 |
container_title |
American Journal of Human Biology |
container_volume |
33 |
container_issue |
4 |
_version_ |
1810439900150890496 |