Nathan James Shipley

• PhD
• Data Analyst at City of Madison

Because the ostensible majority of incidental human–insect (and other arthropods) interactions are negative, any interest in non-pretty “bugs” appears to be inherently demotivated. Three complementary studies explored US college students’ perceptions, knowledge, and experiences of insects to better understand folk classifications and to identify po...

Bird watchers (birders) are stakeholders in wildlife conservation; yet, few federal programs provide formal mechanisms for birders to contribute economically to conservation. One exception is the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (duck stamp), a unique conservation tool historically aimed at waterfowl hunters that generates revenue to a...

Citizen science has proven to be a valuable tool for biodiversity conservation. However, to maximize the conservation benefits of citizen science programs, researchers and practitioners would gain from a better understanding of project volunteers and what drives them to participate. We examined the diverse motivations of volunteers (n = 3041) parti...

Accumulating evidence indicates that simulated natural settings can engage mechanisms that promote health. Simulations offer alternatives to actual natural settings for populations unable to travel outdoors safely; however, few studies have contrasted the effects of simulations of natural settings to their actual outdoor counterparts. We compared t...

Sustaining agricultural environments requires explicit recognition of the services provided by landscapes, particularly cultural ecosystem services that are contested and underrepresented in previous research. We assembled and engaged a panel of experts to identify and deliberate on the relationships among ecosystem services , threats and land mana...

Most interpretive experiences occur in the leisure sector suggesting interpreters must provoke future engagement rather than compel future engagement. Consequently, the potency of the ending of interpretive presentations seems critical to motivating future and ongoing engagement among heritage site visitors. The quality of the conclusion of an inte...

Maintaining resilient and sustainable agricultural watersheds depends on the integration of knowledge from multiple disciplines to inform decisions made about agricultural practices and natural resources in the Kaskaskia River Watershed. With about 82% of the watershed devoted to farming, and of this portion, 63% covered with crop agriculture, farm...

The interrelated concepts of place attachment and place meaning are antecedents to pro-environmental behavior and essential for supporting decisions that foster relationships between people and places. Previous research has argued that affect is instrumental in conceptualizing place-related phenomena but has not yet been considered in terms of disc...

Agroecosystems in the Midwestern United States are undergoing changes that pressure farmers to adapt their farming practices. Because farmers decide what practices to implement on their land, there are needs to understand how they adapt to competing demands of changes in global markets, technology, farm sizes, and decreasing rural populations. Incr...

Decision-making processes to ensure sustainability of complex agro-ecosystems must simultaneously accommodate production goals, environmental soundness, and social relevancy. This means that besides environmental indicators and human activities, stakeholders' perceptions need to be considered in the decision-making process to enable the adoption of...

A rich body of empirical research has posited the emotional concepts of pride and guilt are psychological forces that affect pro-environmental behavior, yet there is conflicting evidence about how each shapes pro-environmental behavior. We report on results from the first meta-analysis that has evaluated the associations of pride and guilt in relat...

Understanding the relationships among social psychological drivers of pro-environmental behavior has been the focus of a long-standing body of research aimed at minimizing human impacts on the environment. Within public land management contexts, empirical evidence has suggested that place-based motivations and normative beliefs explain why people i...

Predictive models of leisure behavior typically rely on measuring internal drivers of behavior (e.g., attitudes, beliefs); however, there are an array of external forces (e.g., culture, context) that increase the predictive capacity of behavioral models. External forces can have a directly observable influence on behavior, but can also influence a...

Surveys of a general population have been a mainstay of leisure and recreation research methods. This study assesses the impact of two different pre-incentives on eliciting a survey response. Two counties with large federal prairie restoration projects and active municipal and county park districts were the study sites. Results show that residents...

In parks and protected area conservation, research is underway to understand the elements and mechanisms of environmental stewardship and to evaluate its effectiveness as a management tool for conservation. Across the country, protected area managers, scientists, concerned citizens and communities are trying to harness stewardship actions to mitiga...

Sustaining agricultural environments requires explicit recognition of the services provided by landscapes, particularly cultural ecosystem services that are contested and underrepresented in previous research. We assembled and engaged a panel of experts to identify and deliberate on the relationships among ecosystem services, threats and land manag...

The National Park Service (NPS) is tasked with protecting natural and cultural resources while simultaneously providing opportunities for public use and enjoyment. This dichotomous mission known as the ‘dual mandate’ defines the NPS’s unique and complex purpose. In 2016, the NPS’s centennial anniversary, many national parks saw record-breaking visi...

Insects and their kin (bugs) are among the most detested and despised creatures on earth. Irrational fears of these mostly harmless organisms often restrict and prevent opportunities for outdoor recreation and leisure. Alternatively, Shipley and Bixler (2016) theorize that direct and positive experiences with bugs during middle childhood may result...

This position paper makes explicit what can be gained by increasing interpretive naturalists' focus on interpreting insects and their close relatives, particularly in local and regional settings. Insects are widely loathed because a few species are highly irritating. Helping people become aware and observant of the overwhelming percentage of insect...