At the 2024 Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology conference, I gave the John Moore Plenary Address. The aim of this lecture series is to invite a nationally-recognized speaker who does not generally attend the SICB annual meeting to offer the society a new perspective on science education.

Here are notes and references from my plenary.

Shark Conservation Background:

Whitenack, L. B., Mickley, B. L., Saltzman, J., Kajiura, S. M., Macdonald, C. C., & Shiffman, D. S. (2022). A content analysis of 32 years of Shark Week documentaries. PloS one, 17(11), e0256842. Our content analysis of Shark Week.

Shiffman, D. S., Elliott, J. N., Macdonald, C. C., Wester, J. N., Polidoro, B. A., & Ferry, L. A. (2022). The next generation of conservation research and policy priorities for threatened and exploited chondrichthyan fishes in the United States: An expert solicitation approach. Conservation science and practice, 4(3), e12629. Our list of expert-solicitation horizon scan derived research priorities for conservation-relevant research on US sharks and rays. Reach out if you are interested in doing this for your own discipline!

Shiffman, D. S., Macdonald, C. C., Wallace, S. S., & Dulvy, N. K. (2021). The role and value of science in shark conservation advocacy. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 16626. Our survey of environmental non-profit advocates who work on shark related conservation issues.

Dulvy, N. K., et al. (2021). Overfishing drives over one-third of all sharks and rays toward a global extinction crisis. Current Biology, 31(21), 4773-4787. The most recent statistics for how many sharks and rays are threatened, derived from the IUCN Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group.

The extinction of the Javan stingaree

The rise of the shark meat trade as a threat to sharks, showing that it is a more valuable trade and larger threat than the shark fin trade

Shiffman, D. S., et al. (2020). Inaccurate and biased global media coverage underlies public misunderstanding of shark conservation threats and solutions. Iscience, 23(6). Our content and discourse analysis of popular press articles about shark conservation showing that the biggest threats and most important solutions don’t get as much coverage. Reach out if you are interested in doing this for your own discipline!

Shiffman, D. S., & Hammerschlag, N. (2016). Shark conservation and management policy: a review and primer for non‐specialists. Animal conservation, 19(5), 401-412. Our open-access and plain language review of available shark conservation policies and regulations, including jurisdisctional issues and evidence requirements. It focuses on the distinction between

Shiffman, D. S., & Hammerschlag, N. (2016). Preferred conservation policies of shark researchers. Conservation Biology, 30(4), 805-815. Our survey of shark scientists showing that 90% prefer sustainable shark fisheries to bans on shark fishing.

Why should we do public science engagement?

Dance, A. (2017). Communication: Antisocial media. Nature, 543(7644), 275-277. My interview in Nature about how I deal with trolls and pseudoscience.

Shiffman, D. S. (2023). Potential for recovery of declining reef sharks. Science, 380(6650), 1104-1105.

Courchamp, F., Fournier, A., Bellard, C., Bertelsmeier, C., Bonnaud, E., Jeschke, J. M., & Russell, J. C. (2017). Invasion biology: specific problems and possible solutions. Trends in ecology & evolution, 32(1), 13-22. (Source of image for Deficit Model vs. Dialogue Model)

My Revelator News article about the deficit model and what works in environmental science outreach..

Ford, A. T., Ali, A. H., Colla, S. R., Cooke, S. J., Lamb, C. T., Pittman, J., … & Singh, N. J. (2021). Understanding and avoiding misplaced efforts in conservation. Facets, 6(1), 252-271. Our article about how well-intentioned but uninformed citizens make choices harmful for conservation, including a discussion on the role of online conservation petitions.

How do I do public science engagement?

My op ed about how and why I planned a book tour. Please get in touch if you’d like to host me at your institution!

My book.

My SCUBA Diving Magazine profile of Minorities in Shark Sciences. Donate to MISS here.

Shiffman, D. S. (2020). Recreational shark fishing in Florida: How research and strategic science communication helped to change policy. Conservation Science and Practice, 2(4), e174. My case study of how a strategic plan based on my Ph.D. research changed Florida law- be sure to read the supplementary materials!

UpGoer Five original comic

UpGoer Five test your text

Shiffman, D. S., (2022, May). What Can Professional Scientific Societies Do to Improve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Case Study of the American Elasmobranch Society. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 7, p. 842618). Our paper on the Elasmobranch Society’s DEI challenges and what can be done to fix them.