Publications
Books
2001 Stepp, J. R., F. S. Wyndham, and R. K. Zarger, Eds. Ethnobiology and Biocultural Diversity. 720 pp. Athens: University of Georgia Press.
In Prep. Landscapes of Childhood: Growing Up Maya in Southern Belize. Monograph based over two decades of research with Q’eqchi’ and Mopan Maya children and families on environmental knowledge and practice in Toledo District, Belize. University of Rutgers Press, Series in Childhood Studies.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
*denotes students directly mentored as major advisor or committee member
2024 W. Alex Webb*, E. Christian Wells, Christine Prouty*, Rebecca Zarger, Maya Trotz “Ethics and ambiguity in wastewater development on the Placencia Peninsula, Belize”. Annals of Anthropological Practice Volume 48 (I):130-145. https://doi.org/10.1111/napa.12215.
2024 Kristina Baines* and Rebecca Zarger. “Dilemmas of making and unmaking environmental and cultural heritage in Southern Belize.” International Journal of Heritage Studies 30(9): 1088–1102. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2024.2369556
2024 Negrón, Rosalyn, Amber Wutich, H. Russell Bernard, Alexandra Brewis, Alissa Ruth, Katherine Mayfour, Barbara Piperata, Melissa Beresford, Cindi SturtzSreetharan, Pardis Mahdavi, Jessica Hardin, Rebecca Zarger, Krista Harper, James Holland Jones, Clarence C. Gravlee, and Bryan Brayboy. 2024. “Ethnographic methods: Training norms and practices and the future of American anthropology.” American Anthropologist 126: 458–469. https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.13991.
2024 Andrew K. Koeser, Richard J. Hauer, Michael G. Andreu, Robert Northrop, Mysha Clarke, John Diaz, Deborah R. Hilbert, Cecil C. Konijnendijk, Shawn M. Landry, Grant L. Thompson, Rebecca Zarger, “Using the 3-30-300 Rule to Assess Urban Forest Access and Preferences in Florida (United States) Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (AUF) May 2024, 50 (3) 241-257; https://doi.org/10.48044/jauf.2024.007
2022 Kris-An Hinds*, Michelle C. Platz, Rebecca Zarger, Mauricio E. Arias; Engaging in Interdisciplinary Coastal Research During a Pandemic. Human Organization 1 September 2022; 81 (3): 271–279. doi: https://doi.org/10.17730/1938-3525-81.3.271
2022 Alissa Ruth, Katherine Mayfour, Jessica Hardin, Thurka Sangaramoorthy, Amber Wutich, H. Russell Bernard, Alexandra Brewis, Melissa Beresford, Cindi SturtzSreetharan, Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy, H.J. François Dengah, Clarence C. Gravlee, Greg Guest, Krista Harper, Pardis Mahdavi, Siobhán M. Mattison, Mark Moritz, Rosalyn Negrón, Barbara A. Piperata, Jeffrey G. Snodgrass, Rebecca Zarger. “Teaching Ethnographic Methods: The State of the Art.” Human Organization 1 December 2022; 81 (4): 401–412. doi: https://doi.org/10.17730/1938-3525-81.4.401
2020 C.A. Vitous* and R. K. Zarger. “Visual Narratives: Exploring the Impacts of Tourism Development in Placencia, Belize.” Annals of Anthropological Practice, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 104–118. https://doi.org/10.1111/napa.12135
2019 E.C. Wells, A. Webb*, C. Prouty*, R.K. Zarger, L.M. Whiteford, M. A. Trotz, J.M. Mihelcic. “Wastewater Technopolitics on the South Coast of Belize.” Economic Anthropology Volume 6, Issue 2: 277-290. Special Issue: Water and Economy. https://doi.org/10.1002/sea2.12145.
2017 C. Prouty*, E. S. Koenig*, E. C. Wells, R. K. Zarger, and Q. Zhang. “Rapid Assessment Framework for Modeling Stakeholder Involvement in Infrastructure Development.” Sustainable Cities and Society 29:130-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2016.12.009
2017 Henderson, Joe and R. K. Zarger. Toward political ecologies of environmental education. Journal of Environmental Education. VOL. 48, NO. 4, 285-289. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2017.1336978
2016 Baines, Kristina* and R. K. Zarger. “It’s good to Learn about the Plants”: Promoting social justice through the development of a Maya environmental and cultural heritage curriculum in southern Belize” Journal of Environmental Studies and Science https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-016-0416-3
2016 Wells, E. C., R. K. Zarger, L. M. Whiteford, M. Cairns*, E. Koenig*, J. Mihelcic. “Impacts of tourism development on perceptions and practices of sustainable wastewater management on the Placencia peninsula, Belize.” Journal for Cleaner Production special issue on sustainable tourism. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.08.050
2014 R. D. Baer, R. K. Zarger, E. Ruiz*, C. Noble*, Susan C. Weller. Lock-down: Applied anthropology and the study of campus emergencies. Human Organization vol. 73: 4 (Dec. 2014).
2014 Carothers, C., M. Moritz, and R. Zarger. Introduction: conceptual, methodological, practical, and ethical challenges in studying and applying indigenous knowledge. Ecology and Society 19(4): 43. http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-07212-190443.
2013 Zarger, Rebecca K. and Thomas J. Pluckhahn. “Assessing Methodologies in Archaeological Ethnography: a case for incorporating ethnographic training in graduate archaeology curricula.” Public Archaeology Vol. 12 No. 1, February 2013, 42–57.
2012 Wright Wendel*, Heather E., Rebecca K. Zarger, and James R. Mihelcic. 2012. Accessibility and usability: Green space preferences, perceptions, and barriers in a rapidly urbanizing city in Latin America. Landscape and Urban Planning. Volume 107, Issue 3:pp. 272-282. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2012.06.003.
2009 Zarger, Rebecca K. Mosaics of Maya Livelihoods: Readjusting to global and local food crises. Annals of Anthropological Practice Vol. 32:130-151.
2004 Zarger, R. K. and J. R. Stepp. “Persistence of Botanical Knowledge Among Tzeltal Maya Children.” Current Anthropology, vol. 45, no 3:413-418.
2003 J. R. Stepp, E. Jones, D. Casagrande, M. Pavao-Zuckerman, and R. K. Zarger. Unique and Remarkable Properties of Human Ecosystems. Conservation Ecology. Vol. 7, no. 3. Special Issue, Human Ecosystems: Toward the Integration of Anthropology and Ecosystem Sciences.
1998 Zarger, R. K. Conceptualizing Prehistoric Water Scarcity in the Central Maya Lowlands: the Influence of a Critical Resource on Settlement Patterns and Political Economy. Journal of Ecological Anthropology, vol. 2, pp.69-84.
Book Chapters
2021 Wells, E. C., Linda Whiteford, and R. K. Zarger. “Spaghetti and Waffles: Anthropologists and Engineers” Case study summary excerpt, in What Anthropologists Do by Veronica Strang. Routledge Publishers.
2016 Whiteford, L. M., M. Cairns,* R. K. Zarger, and G. M. Larsen* “Water, Environment, and Health: The Political Ecology of Water,” In A Companion to Environmental Health: Anthropological Perspectives, Edited by Merrill Singer. Wiley Publishers.
2012 Baines, Kristina* and R. K. Zarger. “Circles of Value: Integrating Maya Environmental Knowledge Into Belizean Schools,” In Helen Kopnina, Ed., Anthropology of Environmental Education. Pp65-86. Nova Science Publishers.
2011 Zarger, Rebecca K. “Learning Ethnobiology: Creating Knowledge, Skills and Practice about the Living World,” In Ethnobiology, Edited by Eugene Anderson, Eugene Hunn, Deborah Pearsall, and Nancy Turner. Wiley and Sons Publishers.
2010 Zarger, Rebecca K. “Learning the Environment,” In The Anthropology of Learning in Childhood, David Lancy, John Bock, Suzanne Gaskins, Eds. pp 341-369. AltaMira Press.
2002 Zarger, R. K. “Acquisition and Transmission of Subsistence Knowledge by Q’eqchi’ Maya in Belize,” in Ethnobiology and Biocultural Diversity, Edited by R. Stepp, F. Wyndham, and R. Zarger, pp 593-603. Athens: University of Georgia Press.
Editor- Reviewed Articles
2023 Baines, Kristina and R.K. Zarger, “Negotiating Heritage Through Practice: Community Engagement at the Intersection of Ethnography and Archaeology” in Practicing Anthropology (2023) 45 (4): 9–16. https://doi.org/10.17730/0888-4552.45.4.9
2019 R. K. Zarger, Gina Larsen*, Alexis Winter*, Libby Carnahan, Ramona Madhosingh-Hector, Lara Milligan, and Justin Winn (2019) Partnerships to Visualize Climate Change Futures in Tampa Bay, Florida. Practicing Anthropology: Summer 2019, Vol. 41, No. 3, pp. 42-47. https://doi.org/10.17730/0888-4552.41.3.42
2019 P. Gonzalez*, R.K. Zarger, A. Vitous*, and C. Prouty,* “Understanding children’s perspectives on water resources in interdisciplinary research.” Practicing Anthropology Winter 2019, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 32-37. https://doi.org/10.17730/0888-4552.41.1.32
2016 E. C. Wells, R. K. Zarger, L. M. Whiteford, E. S. Koenig*, P. G. Gonzalez*, and S. M. Pratt*. Technology and Tourism on the Placencia Peninsula: Exploring Context-sensitive Pathways for Sustainable Wastewater Management. Research Reports in Belizean History and Anthropology.
2014 Wells, E. C. R. K. Zarger, L. M. Whiteford, M. R. Cairns*, and E. S. Koenig*. “The Impacts of Tourism Development on Perceptions and Practices of Wastewater Management on the Placencia Peninsula,” Belize Institute for Social and Cultural Research. Research Reports in Belizean History and Anthropology 2:123-137. Proceedings of the Belize Archaeology and Anthropology Symposium, held July 2013.
2014 Zarger, Rebecca and Kristina Baines*. “Sharing and sustaining Maya Environmental Knowledge in Southern Belize.” Belize Institute for Social and Cultural Research. Research Reports in Belizean History and Anthropology 2:138-147. Proceedings of the Belize Archaeology and Anthropology Symposium, held July 2013.
2008 Zarger, Rebecca K. School Garden Pedagogies: Understanding Childhood Landscapes. Anthropology News April, pp. 8-9. In Focus on Childhood.
Research and Technical Reports
2023 Trotz, MA, Webb, WA, Brinton, A, Zarger, RK, Carne, L, Bood, N, Hinds, K, Mckenna, R, Fogg, S, Neal, J, Guerry, A, Lasserre, CG, Gutteirrez, D, Silver, J, Moore, T, Beck, M. (2023) Nature-Based Solutions Workshop Report: Placencia, Belize (report no. 3). Strong Coasts. DOI:10.5038/LEEY7236
2022 Landry, Shawn, Andrew Koeser, Rebecca Zarger, Kira Rib*, Allyson Salisbury, Allison Bednar, Zachary Freeman (2022). City of Tampa Tree Canopy and Urban Ecological Analysis 2021. Tampa, FL: City of Tampa, Florida. 150 page report to the City of Tampa to be shared with City Council, City of Tampa Natural Resources unit and the public. R. Zarger, Lead author on sub-section social science data presented in report on Social Equity and Values in Tampa’s Urban Forest.
Recent Professional Papers and Presentations
2024 Kira Rib, Rebecca Zarger, and Shawn Landry. “Health Equity and Environmental Justice in the Urban Forest: Witnessing Human-Ecological Entanglements through the Tampa Tree Canopy Study,” Paper presented at the Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting, Santa Fe, New Mexico, March 28th, 2024.
2024 Sherilyne Jones; Brittany Davis, Rebecca Zarger. “Engaging communities experiencing water pollution in urban environments: Collaborating with “Nitrogen champions,” Paper presented at the Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting, Santa Fe, New Mexico, March 28th, 2024.
2024 Rebecca Zarger, Maya Trotz and Cynthia Grace-McCaskey. Introduction for session, “Interdisciplinary Research on Climate Hazards Risks, Possible Futures, and Co- Design of ‘Nature-Based Solutions’ in the Caribbean,” Paper presented at the Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting, Santa Fe, New Mexico, March 28th, 2024.
2023 Rebecca Zarger, Kira Rib, Shawn Landry. “Live Oaks and Dead Oaks: Pasts/futures of Urban Forest Worlds in Florida” in a session titled, “Future forests/Ghost forests”, Paper presented at American Anthropological Association Meetings, Toronto, Canada, Nov. 15-19th, 2023.
2023 Lee McGloughlin, James Stinson, Rebecca Zarger, “When Ontopower Targets the State: Poaching, Preemption and the Militarization of Conservation in Belize,” Paper presented at American Anthropological Association Meetings, Toronto, Canada, Nov. 15-19th, 2023.
2023 James Stinson, Lee McLoughlin, Rebecca Zarger, “Universal Ranger: SMART Environmental Subjects in the Biodiversity-Security-Technology Nexus,” Paper presented at American Anthropological Association Meetings, Toronto, Canada, Nov. 15-19th, 2023.
2023 Prouty, C., Smith, W., Watkins, S., Moore, T., Cheek, L., Ellis, A., Davis, B., Zarger, R., Burke, M., Cwiertny, D., Demir, I., Muller-Karger, F., Meyers, S., Trotz, M. (2023) Bridging communities upstream and downstream for nitrogen management: an inclusive, people-centered platform and capacity-building initiative. Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors Research and Education Conference, Boston, MA, June 20th-24th, 2023.
2023 Shawn Landry, Rebecca Zarger, Kira Rib. “Social Equity, Housing Development and Risk in the Urban Forest: The Tampa Tree Canopy Study” Paper presented at the American Assoc. of Geographers Annual Conference. Denver, Colorado, March 25, 2023.
2022 Rebecca Zarger, Alex Webb, Kris-An Hinds, Estenia Ortiz Carabantes, Maya Trotz, Heather Hopkins. “Virtual Visioning for Strong Coasts: Multi-sited participatory stakeholder engagement during a pandemic”, March 24, 2022. Society for Applied Anthropology Meetings, Salt Lake City, Utah.
2022 Kris-An Hinds, Michelle Platz, Rebecca Zarger, Mauricio Arias “Performing Interdisciplinary Coastal Research During A Pandemic Utilizing Anthropological and Environmental Engineering Methodologies.” March 24, 2022. Society for Applied Anthropology Meetings, Salt Lake City, Utah.
2022 Stinson, James, Tieneke Dykstra, Rebecca Zarger, and Lee McLoughlin. SMART Conservation? Protected Area Management and Algorithmic Ontopower in Belize. Royal Anthropological Institute Conference: Anthropology, AI and the Future of Human Society. Virtual Conference, June 6-10, 2022. For panel, “Informated Environments” organized by Hannah Knox and Emilie Glazer, Kim Fortun, discussant.
2022 Jessica Balerna, Luanna Prevost, Rebecca Zarger, David Lewis, 2022. Ecological Society of America. “Evaluating trade-offs and co-benefits among biophysical and cultural ecosystem services in freshwater wetlands impaired by groundwater extraction” paper presentation 8/2022.
2022 Trotz, M., Zarger, R.; Jones, S. Blue-Green Action Platform (BlueGAP) Storytelling, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator EXPO, 7/26/2022. Virtual presentation.
2022 Tiara Moore, Linden Cheek, April Ellis, Brittany Davis, Christine Prouty, Rebecca Zarger, Maya Burke, David Cwiertny, Ibrahim Demir, Frank Muller-Karger, Stephen Meyers, Maya Trotz. “Bridging communities upstream and downstream for nitrogen management, building an inclusive people-centered platform” paper presented at Restoring America’s Estuaries Summit: Resilient Coasts, Resilient Communities, Dec. 4-8, 2022
Recent Conferences, Workshops and Colloquia Organized
2020-2021 Co-organized Strong Coasts Convergence Center Workshops with NSF Strong Coasts faculty and graduate students, focused on visioning and feasibility for establishing a collaborative engaged research center at USF with a focus on interdisciplinary coastal sustainability research, activities, and co-design services. Series of 3 virtual workshops over the year-long period with 50 participants from the Tampa Bay area, Florida, across the U.S. and the Caribbean. Recommendations incorporated into NSF COPE Coastlines and People proposal (funded in 2021).
Selected Invited Presentations, Public lectures, and Talks
2024 Rebecca Zarger, “Hurricanes and Resilience of Tampa’s Urban Forest”, Post-Hurricane Recovery co-sponsored by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Commission and USF Office of Community Engagement, USF, December 2, 2024.
2024 Rebecca Zarger, Sherilyne Jones, Brittany Davis, et al., “Engaging Communities Experiencing Water Pollution in Urban Environments: the BlueGAP Project,” presentation to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program Social Science Subcommittee, May 22, 2024.
2023 “Qualitative Methods and Qualitative Inquiry,” Panelist on presentation to graduate student organization, University of South Florida, Student Organization for Qualitative Methodologies (SOQM).
2023 “Tampa Tree Canopy Study Findings” Invited presentation to City of Tampa City Council, November, 2023. Public presentation at City Council workshop (public recording available) and discussion of efforts to address tree canopy loss by City Council and City staff.
2023 “Tampa Tree Canopy Study Workshop”, invited public presentation of the findings of the Tree Canopy Study, with USF Water Institute director Shawn Landry and Andrew Koeser, July 2023 public workshop with City of Tampa staff.
2021 “Seeing Double: Planning for Climate Futures and Negotiating an Uncertain Present Along Urban Coastlines” invited panelist for American Anthropological symposium, Humanity at 419, organized by Ed Liebow, AAA Executive Director, November, 2021, Baltimore, MD.
2021 R. Zarger, Invited Panelist, “Anthropology and the Public: Pressing Questions, Responsibilities and Opportunities.” March 1, 2021. Virtual Workshop organized by Cool Anthropology and supported by Wenner-Gren Foundation, NY.
2020 Zarger, R. Invited Lecture, USF Environmental and Water Resources Engineering (EWRE) Seminar Series: “Visualizing Climate Future in the Tampa Bay Region: Flooding, Water Infrastructure and Coastal Resilience.” March 6, 2020
2020 Zarger, R. Moorehouse School of Medicine/Environmental Defense Fund, invited panelist for climate equity event, November, 2020. The Satcher Health Leadership Institute (SHLI) at Morehouse School of Medicine and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) partnered to convene a small group of state leaders from Florida, Georgia and North Carolina to discuss the impact of climate change on vulnerable populations. Invited to prepare remarks on the Congressional Climate Action Plan.
2020 Co-organized an NSF-Funded collaborative workshop called, “Indigenous Co-Innovation at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems (Co-InFEWS): Shared challenges, shared understanding and shared solutions for food, energy, and water systems,” focused on ways higher education institutions and researchers can collaborate with Indigenous communities, held virtually June 15-19, 2020. More than 125 virtual participants from U.S. and abroad, co-hosted with UC Berkeley, University of Arizona, University of South Florida and Diné College. https://blumcenter.berkeley.edu/academics/infews/workshop/.