2022
Parker-Shames, Phoebe
2022.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: ecological impacts, Marijuana
@phdthesis{Parker-Shames2022,
title = {Ecological Outcomes of Cannabis Legalization: A multidisciplinary study of cannabis land use change, its social drivers, and environmental outcomes},
author = {Phoebe Parker-Shames},
url = {https://angelo.berkeley.edu/parkershamesdissertation/},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-08-10},
urldate = {2022-08-10},
abstract = {Recent state-level legalizations of recreational cannabis across the US have created a large-scale
policy experiment that could alter land use patterns and shape wildlife communities. Cannabis
legalization provides a rare opportunity to study the consequences of land use change in a rural
agriculture frontier. This dissertation explores the ecological outcomes of cannabis legalization
by approaching cannabis landscapes as social-ecological systems and combining multiple
disciplinary approaches. My research takes an interdisciplinary approach to quantifying land use
change and contributes to our context-specific understanding of wildlife responses to human
development. Ultimately, this research provides results that are timely and may be useful for
policy, management, and land use decision-making.
I begin with an introduction on cannabis landscapes as social-ecological systems. I outline a brief
history of cannabis farming in the western US, as well as an explanation of my focus on small-
scale legacy cannabis farming. Then, in Chapter 1, I produce baseline distribution data on
cannabis land use in southern Oregon, and examine the overlap with sensitive ecological
features. This chapter addresses the questions: How is cannabis production distributed? Where
might we be concerned about its environmental impact? In Chapter 2, I use cannabis farmer
interviews to generate model covariates which contextualize the cannabis land use data from the
first chapter. Here, I ask: What drives cannabis land use over time? What is the socio-ecological
context for these drivers? In Chapter 3, I use wildlife camera data to examine the outcomes of
cannabis land use for animals on and surrounding cannabis farms. This chapter focuses on the
question: How do wildlife respond to cannabis farming? In Chapter 4, I detail the methodology
for field experiments that address specific mechanisms of wildlife response to cannabis
cultivation, asking: What is the role of light and noise disturbance in multi-taxa wildlife response
to cannabis? Finally, I conclude with a summary of the broad implications of this work, as well
as future research and policy recommendations.},
keywords = {ecological impacts, Marijuana},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Recent state-level legalizations of recreational cannabis across the US have created a large-scale
policy experiment that could alter land use patterns and shape wildlife communities. Cannabis
legalization provides a rare opportunity to study the consequences of land use change in a rural
agriculture frontier. This dissertation explores the ecological outcomes of cannabis legalization
by approaching cannabis landscapes as social-ecological systems and combining multiple
disciplinary approaches. My research takes an interdisciplinary approach to quantifying land use
change and contributes to our context-specific understanding of wildlife responses to human
development. Ultimately, this research provides results that are timely and may be useful for
policy, management, and land use decision-making.
I begin with an introduction on cannabis landscapes as social-ecological systems. I outline a brief
history of cannabis farming in the western US, as well as an explanation of my focus on small-
scale legacy cannabis farming. Then, in Chapter 1, I produce baseline distribution data on
cannabis land use in southern Oregon, and examine the overlap with sensitive ecological
features. This chapter addresses the questions: How is cannabis production distributed? Where
might we be concerned about its environmental impact? In Chapter 2, I use cannabis farmer
interviews to generate model covariates which contextualize the cannabis land use data from the
first chapter. Here, I ask: What drives cannabis land use over time? What is the socio-ecological
context for these drivers? In Chapter 3, I use wildlife camera data to examine the outcomes of
cannabis land use for animals on and surrounding cannabis farms. This chapter focuses on the
question: How do wildlife respond to cannabis farming? In Chapter 4, I detail the methodology
for field experiments that address specific mechanisms of wildlife response to cannabis
cultivation, asking: What is the role of light and noise disturbance in multi-taxa wildlife response
to cannabis? Finally, I conclude with a summary of the broad implications of this work, as well
as future research and policy recommendations.
policy experiment that could alter land use patterns and shape wildlife communities. Cannabis
legalization provides a rare opportunity to study the consequences of land use change in a rural
agriculture frontier. This dissertation explores the ecological outcomes of cannabis legalization
by approaching cannabis landscapes as social-ecological systems and combining multiple
disciplinary approaches. My research takes an interdisciplinary approach to quantifying land use
change and contributes to our context-specific understanding of wildlife responses to human
development. Ultimately, this research provides results that are timely and may be useful for
policy, management, and land use decision-making.
I begin with an introduction on cannabis landscapes as social-ecological systems. I outline a brief
history of cannabis farming in the western US, as well as an explanation of my focus on small-
scale legacy cannabis farming. Then, in Chapter 1, I produce baseline distribution data on
cannabis land use in southern Oregon, and examine the overlap with sensitive ecological
features. This chapter addresses the questions: How is cannabis production distributed? Where
might we be concerned about its environmental impact? In Chapter 2, I use cannabis farmer
interviews to generate model covariates which contextualize the cannabis land use data from the
first chapter. Here, I ask: What drives cannabis land use over time? What is the socio-ecological
context for these drivers? In Chapter 3, I use wildlife camera data to examine the outcomes of
cannabis land use for animals on and surrounding cannabis farms. This chapter focuses on the
question: How do wildlife respond to cannabis farming? In Chapter 4, I detail the methodology
for field experiments that address specific mechanisms of wildlife response to cannabis
cultivation, asking: What is the role of light and noise disturbance in multi-taxa wildlife response
to cannabis? Finally, I conclude with a summary of the broad implications of this work, as well
as future research and policy recommendations.
2021
Power, Mary E.
Synthetic threads through the web of life Journal Article
In: PNAS, 2021.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: CRISPR, ecological impacts, gene drives, interaction strength, scale linkages
@article{Power2021,
title = {Synthetic threads through the web of life},
author = {Mary E. Power},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2004833118},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-04-30},
journal = {PNAS},
abstract = {CRISPR-Cas gene editing tools have brought us to an era of synthetic biology that will change the world. Excitement over the breakthroughs these tools have enabled in biology and medicine is balanced, justifiably, by concern over how their applications might go wrong in open environments. We do not know how genomic processes (including regulatory and epigenetic processes), evolutionary change, ecosystem interactions, and other higher order processes will affect traits, fitness, and impacts of edited organisms in nature. However, anticipating the spread, change, and impacts of edited traits or organisms in heterogeneous, changing environments is particularly important with “gene drives on the horizon.” To anticipate how “synthetic threads” will affect the web of life on Earth, scientists must confront complex system interactions across many levels of biological organization. Currently, we lack plans, infrastructure, and funding for field science and scientists to track new synthetic organisms, with or without gene drives, as they move through open environments.},
keywords = {CRISPR, ecological impacts, gene drives, interaction strength, scale linkages},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
CRISPR-Cas gene editing tools have brought us to an era of synthetic biology that will change the world. Excitement over the breakthroughs these tools have enabled in biology and medicine is balanced, justifiably, by concern over how their applications might go wrong in open environments. We do not know how genomic processes (including regulatory and epigenetic processes), evolutionary change, ecosystem interactions, and other higher order processes will affect traits, fitness, and impacts of edited organisms in nature. However, anticipating the spread, change, and impacts of edited traits or organisms in heterogeneous, changing environments is particularly important with “gene drives on the horizon.” To anticipate how “synthetic threads” will affect the web of life on Earth, scientists must confront complex system interactions across many levels of biological organization. Currently, we lack plans, infrastructure, and funding for field science and scientists to track new synthetic organisms, with or without gene drives, as they move through open environments.