Public perceptions of marine threats and protection from around the world

Lotze, Heike K.; Guest, Haley; O’Leary, Jennifer; Tuda, Arthur Omondi; Wallace, Douglas W.R.

doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.11.004

Cited by 144 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…An understanding of marine processes and issues is necessary to effectively engage in discussions of marine policy and encourage adoption of proenvironmental behaviors (Steel et al, 2005;McKinley and Fletcher, 2010;Chen and Tsai, 2016;Easman et al, 2018). It is widely recognized that human activities are threatening the integrity of the marine environment (Jefferson et al, 2015;Chen and Tsai, 2016;Easman et al, 2018;Lotze et al, 2018). However, the most pressing threats to marine ecosystems are not always well understood by the general public (Jefferson et al, 2014;Lotze et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stepping Out of the Ivory Tower for Ocean Literacy

2019

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The Ocean Literacy movement is predominantly driven forward by scientists and educators working in subject areas associated with ocean science. While some in the scientific community have heeded the responsibility to communicate with the general public to increase scientific literacy, reaching and engaging with diverse audiences remains a challenge. Many academic institutions, research centers, and individual scientists use social network sites (SNS) like Twitter to not only promote conferences, journal publications, and scientific reports, but to disseminate resources and information that have the potential to increase the scientific literacy of diverse audiences. As more people turn to social media for news and information, SNSs like Twitter have a great potential to increase ocean literacy, so long as disseminators understand the best practices and limitations of SNS communication. This study analyzed the Twitter account of MaREI-Ireland's Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy-coordinated by University College Cork Ireland, as a case study. We looked specifically at posts related to ocean literacy to determine what types of audiences are being engaged and what factors need to be considered to increase engagement with intended audiences. Two main findings are presented in this paper. First, we present overall user retweet frequency as a function of post characteristics, highlighting features significant in influencing users' retweet behavior. Second, we separate users into two types-INREACH and OUTREACH-and identify post characteristics that are statistically relevant in increasing the probability of engaging with an OUTREACH user. The results of this study provide novel insight into the ways in which science-based Twitter users can better use the platform as a vector for science communication and outreach.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stepping Out of the Ivory Tower for Ocean Literacy

2019

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“…Marine conservation scientists should not assume that the "public" (typically including coastal and fishing communities, indigenous groups, policy makers and others) share their world views and assumptions about marine environments and resources (Kohler and Brondizio, 2017). Gaps are often apparent between the public's and marine scientists' perceptions of threats to the marine environment (Lotze et al, 2018). Societies' lack of trust in expertise of all kinds, including science and government, has heightened globally in recent years (Nichols, 2017), with academics and their institutions regarded as ivory towers conducting research in isolated realms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Licence for Marine Conservation Science

2018

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Marine environments are complex and dynamic social-ecological systems, where social perceptions of ocean stewardship are diverse, resource use is potentially unsustainable, and conservation efforts rely strongly on public support or acceptance. Decreasing trust in science in recent years has led to weakened social acceptance and approval of marine conservation science. Social licence is a concept that reflects informal, unwritten public expectations about the impacts and benefits of industry and government practises, including research, on natural resources, including the ocean. Working toward improving social licence may provide opportunity to bolster support for marine conservation, by allowing communities to engage with marine issues and marine science, and voice their concerns and views. Here, we argue that marine conservation requires social licence and we highlight science advocacy, accomplished through outreach, as a means to achieve this. We identify a role for marine conservation science to engage with the public through advocacy to improve understanding and perceptions of conservation. Drawing from the literature, we describe how science advocacy can enhance social licence for marine conservation research and outline four steps that can advise marine conservation scientists to achieve and promote social licence for their research and the wider marine conservation community.

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“…Awareness of the impacts of exploitation, marine pollution and ocean sprawl, as well as of eco-engineering countermeasures, is growing (Chapman and Underwood 2011, Morris et al 2016, Lotze et al 2018, Strain et al 2019. However, there remain many emerging issues, knowledge gaps and research needs at numerous scales for understanding the dynamics of urban marine ecosystems (Airoldi et al 2005, Kueffer andKaiser-Bunbury 2014) and building urban marine ecology as a discipline.…”

Section: Critical Challenges and Research Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards an urban marine ecology: characterizing the drivers, patterns and processes of marine ecosystems in coastal cities

Todd

Heery

Loke

et al. 2019

Oikos

202

129

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Human population density within 100 km of the sea is approximately three times higher than the global average. People in this zone are concentrated in coastal cities that are hubs for transport and trade – which transform the marine environment. Here, we review the impacts of three interacting drivers of marine urbanization (resource exploitation, pollution pathways and ocean sprawl) and discuss key characteristics that are symptomatic of urban marine ecosystems. Current evidence suggests these systems comprise spatially heterogeneous mosaics with respect to artificial structures, pollutants and community composition, while also undergoing biotic homogenization over time. Urban marine ecosystem dynamics are often influenced by several commonly observed patterns and processes, including the loss of foundation species, changes in biodiversity and productivity, and the establishment of ruderal species, synanthropes and novel assemblages. We discuss potential urban acclimatization and adaptation among marine taxa, interactive effects of climate change and marine urbanization, and ecological engineering strategies for enhancing urban marine ecosystems. By assimilating research findings across disparate disciplines, we aim to build the groundwork for urban marine ecology – a nascent field; we also discuss research challenges and future directions for this new field as it advances and matures. Ultimately, all sides of coastal city design: architecture, urban planning and civil and municipal engineering, will need to prioritize the marine environment if negative effects of urbanization are to be minimized. In particular, planning strategies that account for the interactive effects of urban drivers and accommodate complex system dynamics could enhance the ecological and human functions of future urban marine ecosystems.

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Public perceptions of marine threats and protection from around the world

Cited by 144 publications

References 46 publications

Stepping Out of the Ivory Tower for Ocean Literacy

Stepping Out of the Ivory Tower for Ocean Literacy

Social Licence for Marine Conservation Science

Towards an urban marine ecology: characterizing the drivers, patterns and processes of marine ecosystems in coastal cities

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