contributed post

Effective November 2018, The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America will accept submissions for consideration in a new section dedicated to Communicating Science. All articles published in the series are free to publish and freely available via open access. This new space in the journal provides ESA members interested in communication and engagement a platform for publishing articles on…

New Web Articles on National Parks in the History of Science National parks in the United States have hosted some of the most significant and influential research projects in ecology and other fields. Many of those studies have launched new lines of inquiry, revealed new taxa, informed foundational ideas in a variety of disciplines, provided “real-world” complements to laboratory studies,…

This week, Johanna “Pika Jo” Varner responds to the #MySciComm questions! We’re thrilled to share her story with you, not least because she was the originator and on-going inspiration for our annual #SketchYourScience activity at the C&E Section booth at annual meetings.   Johanna Varner is an ecologist who studies how climate change affects pikas, small mammals closely related to rabbits….

This week, Marty Downs responds to the #MySciComm questions!  Marty is the Deputy Director of the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network Communications Office, based at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) in Santa Barbara.  She manages internal and external communications for a network of over 2000 environmental scientists and 28 diverse research sites. Marty began her career…

This week, Diogo Veríssimo updates his responses to the #MySciComm questions!  Diogo is a biologist turned scientist turned marketer! He decided that he could have the cake and eat it, and so focused his research on the fledgling field of conservation marketing, the use of marketing theory and techniques to help promoted biodiversity-friendly behaviors. He is currently an Oxford Martin…

This week, Tatiana Eaves responds to the #MySciComm questions!  Tatiana is a biologist, photographer, and freelance science writer living in the Washington D.C. metro area. She received her undergraduate degree in Biology, with a concentration on ecology and evolution, from Appalachian State University and minored in Geographic Information Systems. She currently writes for Ricochet Science and the Ecological Society of…

This week, Dr. David Bowne responds to the #MySciComm questions!  David is an Associate Professor of Biology at Elizabethtown College, an ecologist, an author, and a happy husband and father of two. He has a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia, a M.S. in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development from the University of Georgia, and a B.S….

“If you have become frustrated, as I have, with the lack of action and public support of climate change research and proactive policy, this book will be an eye opener.” ~S. Burke   What is the reviewer’s motive and perspective?  I am a fourth year PhD student at the University of New Hampshire studying the effects of climate change on…

This week, Dr. David Shiffman responds to the #MySciComm questions!  *Editor’s note: David is available Wednesday, August 29, 2018 (the date of publication) to answer questions you may have about what it’s like to be a science communicator, how he got into it, and sharks, of course! Connect with him in the comments, or on Twitter and Facebook (use #MySciComm so…

This week, Becky Barak responds to the #MySciComm questions! Becky is a co-founder of Plant Love Stories, which we will be featuring at the Communication and Engagement Section’s booth* during ESA 2018! Please visit us to share your Plant Love Story!

“In many ways, Alan Alda represents an archetype of one type of audience member that people try to reach with their science communications. He is a non-expert. He’s interested in a range of scientific topics from health to psychology to ecology. He is exceptionally curious. If this sounds like one of your regular target audiences, then this book is for…

This week, Dr. Sara Kuebbing, of Plant Love Stories*, responds to the #MySciComm questions! Sara Kuebbing is a plant ecologist and conservation biologist who adores chickadees and mayapples. She is delighted to join the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Biological Sciences this fall as an Assistant Professor. Sara’s most recent #MySciComm adventure is propagating Plant Love Stories, a website devoted…

I feel like I have found a reference to keep on my shelf for the rest of my career […] In fact, after reading Writing Science in Plain English, I want to go back and edit every journal article I have ever written. ~S. Bayer What is the reviewer’s motive (expertise, curiosity, sharing lessons learned, etc.) and perspective (research scientist,…

In the spirit of expanding the reach and of science communication and engagement conversations happening within and beyond the Communications and Engagement Section, we are going to start re-posting and cross-posting content from C&E Section members. If you would like to have one of your projects or blog posts featured in this series, contact us! Meanwhile, here’s a cross-post from…

When I first read this book, I was so inspired that I set out to transform every lecture in my Gen-Ed course into a TED talk. ~ J. Purrenhage What is the reviewer’s motive (expertise, curiosity, sharing lessons learned, etc.) and perspective (research scientist, educator, science communicator, etc.)?  I am a scientist and a science educator. As a lecturer in…

This week, Dr. Caitlin Looby, a SciComm Section member, responds to the #MySciComm questions! Caitlin Looby is a scientist and a freelance science writer. She earned her PhD in Biology from the University of California, Irvine, her M.S. in Biotechnology at Kean University, and her B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Connecticut. During graduate school, Caitlin…

This week, Rose Hendricks, a member of the ComSciCon Leadership Team, responds to the #MySciComm questions! Right now, we are recruiting, with ComSciCon and the ESA Student Section, for student co-organizers to lead a ComSciCon workshop at #ESA2018! Please contact the ESA Student section directly if you want to co-organize and lead the #ESA2018 ComSciCon! Rose is a PhD Candidate…