User:ShaneGero

Shane

Gero

Aarhus

University

Research

Fellow

I am a behavioural ecologist who is most interested in the evolution of group living, social structure and culture in mammals. In particular, my research focuses on the interplay between functionally diverse communication systems and complex societies in cetaceans. For over a decade, I have been working on research projects all over the world on various species in tropical, temperate and arctic areas.

The experiences gained through my academic trajectory; from graduate work at Dalhousie University, to my fellowships at the University of St. Andrews and the Marine Bioacoustics Lab at Aarhus University; have granted me the analytical skills and strong publication drive learned from a leaders in the field.

The Dominica Sperm Whale Project has been tracking over 20 families of sperm whales in the Caribbean Sea since 2005. Through thousands of hours of fieldwork, I have followed calves from birth through weaning and described the social dynamics among family members, as well as between the families within the community of the Caribbean.

I am also passionately driven to share my findings with a wider audience than my scientific peers. With scientific denialism at epidemic levels in today’s society, contributing to public awareness is crucial for scientists now more than ever. I have always felt strongly that the public needs to be connected to biologists undertaking research. A new academic culture which encourages public engagement is needed! This is one of the reasons I started editing Wikiepdia. I am new to being an editor of Wikipedia, but I will be gaining steam particularly in editing articles on or related to cetaceans. My focus will be on maintaining up-to-date scientific accuracy on those pages and linking to current publications in scientific journals.

Ultimately, my generation must be THE generation to enact dramatic changes to our interactions with the oceans. My personal success will stem from endeavoring to help lay the foundation for that change by increasing our knowledge through innovative research, developing awareness of our impacts through education, and promoting action through advocacy

I am also the Chair of the Education Committee Chair of the Society for Marine Mammalogy and run the Marine Mammal WikiSprints. Their goal is to increase public access to accurate information about marine mammal species, their habitat, and the conservation issues; while linking this first access point to the deeper literature. The Soceity is seeking to build a community of passionate experts who believe that everyone should have access to up-to-date information about the marine species with which we work. I encourage you to consider participating.