Shauna BurnSilver
Assistant Professor, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
School of Human Evolution and Social Change
Arizona State University
PO Box 872402
Tempe, AZ 85287-2402
Titles
- Senior Sustainability Scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability
- Assistant Professor, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Affiliated Faculty, Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability
- Affiliated Faculty, Center for Behavior, Institutions and the Environment, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Biography
Dr. BurnSilver is an environmental anthropologist who studies how global climate and economic changes are transforming relationships between modern pastoral and hunter/fisher communities and the environments they depend on. At the core of her research is an examination of processes by which households and communities respond to these changes and associated effects on livelihoods, well-being and ecosystems. She frames theoretical questions from within Environmental Anthropology, but takes an interdisciplinary approach to examine dynamics of change, vulnerability and resilience at the scale of households and communities within social-ecological systems. Her work combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies, leveraging the strengths of ethnography and quantitative survey research and incorporating unique insights gained from social network analysis, traditional ecological knowledge, collaborative science, and social-ecological modeling to understand patterns of change - and their implications for people. She is interested in emergent definitions of "progress" and "well-being" in the midst of changes. How do different groups describe their relationships to Nature and landscapes? Do these cultural understandings shape livelihood decisions in the short and long terms, and if so - how?
Dr. BurnSilver works in the Alaskan Arctic with modern Iñupiaq and Gwich'in hunters/fishers and in East and West Africa, with Maasai (Kenya) and Tuareg (Mali) pastoralists. The responses of arctic hunters/fishers and savanna pastoral households to change are compelling to study and compare because while they represent iconic examples of groups who possess a highly-cohesive set of cultural and ecological adaptations to cope with extreme environments, people now face new sources of risk and uncertainty, such as climate change, market integration, and property rights transformations. Do traditional coping strategies, social structures and ideas about living on the land disappear under new sources of risk? Results of prior research indicate otherwise. Households diversify, mixed economies emerge, and social relationships of sharing and cooperation endure and change. Strong collaborations with local stakeholders and communities, who are also engaged with questions of well-being and sustainable livelihoods grounds my ongoing research activities.
Education
- PhD, Human Ecology, Colorado State University, 2007
- MS, Resource Interpretation, Colorado State University, 1997
- BA, International Relations, Scripps College, 1987
Expertise
- household and community vulnerability
- resilience
- subsistence livelihoods
- economic diversification
- mixed economies
- food systems
- socioecology
- social capital
- social networks
- collaboration
- climate change and adaptation
- Good Health and Well-Being
External Links
Journal Articles
2016
Baggio, J., S. B. BurnSilver, A. Arenas, J. S. Magdanz, G. P. Kofinas and M. De Domenico. 2016. Multiplex social ecological network analysis reveals how social changes affect community robustness more than resource depletion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113(48):13708-13713. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1604401113. (link )
Brinkman, T. J., W. D. Hansen, F. S. Chapin III, G. Kofinas, S. BurnSilver and T. S. Rupp. 2016. Arctic communities perceive climate impacts on access as a critical challenge to availability of subsistence resources. Climate Change 139(3):413-427. DOI: 10.1007/s10584-016-1819-6. (link )
BurnSilver, S. 2016. Representing wealth in a changing pastoral economy: A comparison of traditional and new metrics in Maasailand, Kenya. Nomadic People 20(1):8-34. DOI: 10.3197/np.2016.200103. (link )
BurnSilver, S., J. Magdanz, R. Stotts, M. Berman and G. Kofinas. 2016. Are mixed economies persistent or transitional? Evidence using social networks from arctic Alaska. American Anthropologist 118(1):121-129. DOI: 10.1111/aman.12447. (link )
Petrov, A. N., S. BurnSilver, F. S. Chapin III, G. Fondahl, J. Graybill, K. Keil, A. E. Nilsson, R. Riedlsperger and P. Schweitzer. 2016. Arctic sustainability research: Toward a new agenda. Polar Geography 39(3):165-178. DOI: 10.1080/1088937X.2016.1217095. (link )
Reid, R. S., D. Nikedianye, M. Y. Said, D. Kaelo, M. Neselle, O. Makui, L. Onetu, S. Kiruswa, N. Ole Kamuaro, P. Kristjanson, J. Ogutu, S. B. BurnSilver, M. J. Goldman, R. B. Boone, K. A. Galvin, N. M. Dickson and W. C. Clark. 2016. Evolution of models to support community and policy action with science: Balancing pastoral livelihoods and wildlife conservation in savannas of East Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113(17):4579-4584. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0900313106. (link )
2015
Galvin, K. A., T. A. Beeton, R. B. Boone and S. B. BurnSilver. 2015. Nutritional status of Maasai pastoralists under change. Human Ecology 43(3):411-424. DOI: 10.1007/s10745-015-9749-x. (link )
2014
Risvoll, C., G. Fedreheim, A. Sandberg and S. BurnSilver. 2014. Does pastoralists' participation in the management of national parks in northern Norway contribute to adaptive governance?. Ecology and Society 19(2):Art. 71. DOI: 10.5751/ES-06658-190271. (link )
2012
Biggs, R., M. Schluter, D. Biggs, E. L. Bohensky, S. BurnSilver, G. Cundill, V. Dakos, T. M. Daw, L. S. Evans, K. Kotschy, A. M. Leitch, C. Meek, A. Quinlan, C. Raudsepp-Heame, M. D. Robards, M. L. Schoon, L. Schultz and P. C. West. 2012. Toward principles for enhancing the resilience of ecosystem services. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 37:421-448. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-environ-051211-123836. (link )
2011
Boone, R. B., K. A. Galvin, S. B. BurnSilver, P. K. Thornton, D. S. Ojima and J. R. Jawson. 2011. Using coupled simulation models to link pastoral decision making and ecosystem services. Ecololgy and Society 16(2):Art. 6. (link )
2010
Kofinas, G. P., F. S. Chapin III, S. B. BurnSilver, J. I. Schmidt, N. L. Fresco, K. Kielland, S. Martin, A. Springsteen and T. S. Rupp. 2010. Resilience of Athabascan subsistence systems to interior Alaska's changing climate. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 40(7):1347-1359. DOI: 10.1139/X10-108. (link )
2007
Thornton, P. K., R. B. Boone, K. A. Galvin, S. B. BurnSilver, M. M. Waithaka, J. Kuyiah, S. Karanja, E. Gonzalez-Estrada and M. Herrero. 2007. Coping strategies in livestock-dependent households in east and southern Africa: A synthesis of four case studies. Human Ecology 35(2):461-476. DOI: 10.1007/s10745-007-9118-5. (link )
2006
Thornton, P. K., S. B. BurnSilver, R. B. Boone and K. A. Galvin. 2006. Modelling the impacts of group ranch subdivision on agro-pastoral households in Kajiado, Kenya. Agricultural Systems 87(3):331-336. DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2005.03.001. (link )
2005
Boone, R. B., S. B. BurnSilver, P. K. Thornton, J. S. Worden and K. A. Galvin. 2005. Quantifying declines in livestock due to land subdivision. Rangeland Ecology & Management 58(5):523-532. (link )
Christensen, L., S. BurnSilver and M. Coughenour. 2005. Integrated assessment of the dynamics, stability and resilience of the Inner Mongolian grazing systems. Nomadic Peoples 9(1/2):131-145. (link )
Book Chapters
2017
Berman, M., G. Kofinas and S. BurnSilver. 2017. Measuring community adaptive and transformative capacity in the Arctic context. Pp. 59-75 In: Fondahl, G. and G. N. Wilson eds., Northern Sustainabilities: Understanding and Addressing Change in the Circumpolar World. Springer International Publishing. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-46150-2_6. ISBN: 978-3-319-46148-9.
BurnSilver, S. B., R. B. Boone, G. P. Kofinas and T. J. Brinkman. 2017. Modeling tradeoffs in a rural Alaska mixed economy: Hunting, working, and sharing in the face of economic and ecological change. Pp. 52-83 In: Hegmon, M. ed., The Give and Take of Sustainability: Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives on Tradeoffs. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9781107078338.
2015
Dakos, V., A. Quinlan, J. A. Baggio, E. M. Bennett, O. Bodin and S. B. BurnSilver. 2015. Principle 2: Manage connectivity. Pp. 80-104 In: Biggs, R., M. Schluter and M. L. Schoon eds., Principles for Building Resilience: Sustaining Ecosystem Services in Social-Ecological Systems. Cambridge University Press.
2009
BurnSilver, S. B. 2009. Pathways of continuity and change: Maasi livelihoods in Amboseli, Kajiado District, Kenya. Pp. 161-207 In: Homewood, K., P. Kristjanson and P. Chenevix Trench eds., Staying Maasai? Livelihoods, Conservation and Development in East African Rangelands. Vol 5. Springer New York. DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-87492-0_5. ISBN: 978-0-387-87491-3. (link )
Galvin, K. A., R. B. Boone, S. B. BurnSilver and P. K. Thornton. 2009. Humans and wildlife as ecosystem components in integrated assessments. Pp. 129-142 In: Manfredo, M. J., J. J. Vaske, P. J. Brown, D. J. Decker and E. A. Duke eds., Wildlife and Society: The Science of Human Dimensions. Island Press. Washington, DC. ISBN: 978-1597264082.
Serneels, S., M. Herrero, S. B. BurnSilver, P. Chenevix Trench, K. Cochrane, K. Homewood, P. Kristjanson, F. Nelson, M. Radeny, D. M. Thompson and M. Yahya Said. 2009. Methods in the analysis of Maasai livelihoods. Pp. 43-67 In: Homewood, K., P. Kristjanson and P. Chenevix Trench eds., Staying Maasi? Livelihoods, Conservation and Development in East African Rangelands. Vol 5. Springer New York. DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-87492-0_2. ISBN: 978-0-387-87491-3. (link )
2008
Boone, R. B., S. B. BurnSilver and R. S. Kruska. 2008. Comparing landscape and infrastructural heterogeneity within and between ecosystems. Pp. 341-367 In: Galvin, K. A., R. S. Reid, R. H. Behnke Jr and N. T. Hobbs eds., Fragmentationin Semi-Arid and Arid Landscapes: Consequences for Human and Natural Systems. Springer Netherlands. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-4906-4_14. ISBN: 978-1-4020-4905-7. (link )
Boone, R. B., S. B. BurnSilver, J. S. Worden, K. A. Galvin and N. T. Hobbs. 2008. Large-scale movements of large herbivores livestock following changes in seasonal forage supply. Pp. 187-206 In: Van Langevelde F., H. T. ed., Resource Ecology. Vol 23. Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-6850-8_16. (link )
BurnSilver, S. B., J. S. Worden and R. B. Boone. 2008. Processes of fragmentation in the Amboseli ecosystem, southern Kajiado District, Kenya. Pp. 225-253 In: Galvin, K. A., R. S. Reid, R. H. Behnke Jr and N. T. Hobbs eds., Fragmentation in Semi-Arid and Arid Landscapes: Consequences for Human and Natural Systems. Springer Netherlands. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-4906-4_10. ISBN: 978-1-4020-4905-7. (link )
2003
BurnSilver, S. B., R. B. Boone and K. A. Galvin. 2003. Linking pastoralists to a heterogeneous landscape: The case of four Maasi group ranches in Kajiado District, Kenya. Pp. 173-199 In: Fox, J., R. R. Rindfuss, S. J. Walsh and V. Mishra eds., People and the Environment. Springer US. DOI: 10.1007/0-306-48130-8_6. ISBN: 978-1-4020-7322-9. (link )
Presentations
2014
Anderies, J. M., H. Eakin, M. A. Janssen, C. Redman, A. Barnett, J. Baggio, S. B. BurnSilver, D. Manuel-Navarrete, M. Schoon and S. van der Leeuw. 2014. Resilience thinking in an urbanizing world. Presentation at the Resilience 2014 Resilience and Development: Mobilizing for Transformation, 4-8 May 2014, Le Corum, Montpellier, France. (link )
