Addressing Social-Ecological Systems Across Temporal and Spatial Scales: A Conceptual Synthesis for Ethnobiology

The aim of this article is to develop an integrative conceptual framework for addressing social-ecological systems across different spatial and temporal scales. Ethnobiologists study social-ecological systems through the lens of heterogeneous disciplines from the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Despite the integrative ambitions of the field, ethnobiology often remains fragmented through research programs that emphasize different methods and scales. This article proposes a conceptual synthesis of three processes of (1) cognitive processing, (2) cultural transmission, and (3) biocultural evolution. We also discuss how social negotiation is embedded in them. By showing how these different processes interact across different spatial and temporal scales, the article develops a framework for ethnobiological scholarship that can address complex dynamics in social-ecological systems.