Scientists and educators in technology-driven societies struggle to make science relevant and interesting. Communication of science can be achieved in informal ways through leisure activities. This includes teaching and communicating scientific facts. This qualitative study examined aquarium keeping as a leisure activity and how it communicates aquatic facts and processes. Through interviews, participant observation, and ongoing analysis of literature on aquarium hobby literature, I examined the lives of aquarium keepers in the United States. This study shows that (1) caring for an aquarium at home communicates science implicitly; (2) over time latent science communication is activated and (3) aquarium keeping long-term leads to a personal response in science and conservation. Furthermore, creativity and innovation are combined with scientific knowledge and applied science to create beautiful and biodiverse ecosystems. Participation in the maintenance of an aquarium leads to proficiency with scientific facts and a better understanding of scientific processes. This also results in a stronger conservation ethic for aquatic resources. This intersectionality encourages participation through new challenges and different forms of satisfaction. It is important to understand the human dimensions of aquarium keeping and the values of aquarists. This is mainly because it covers a large portion of the American population and is very lucrative for those who are part of the supply chain. Aquarium keeping is more than a hobby. It can also be a communication tool that sparks conservation efforts and science.
Introduction
Communication of science, including conservation science, requires a person to respond to it ( Burns and co., 2003). A person's "personal response" can be described as enjoyment, interest, opinion-forming experiences, understanding, and awareness. These outcomes can be achieved via formal (e.g. school) or informal means (e.g. citizen science; Dickinson & Bonney, 2012). Informal scientific communication can include passive methods that often border on entertainment. The line between scientific communication, scientific entertainment, and informal scientific communication is dotted with many recreation and leisure activities. The hobby of keeping a home aquarium is one such activity.
The global aquarium industry is worth between 15 and $30 billion U.S. Dollars ( Hoff 1996; Wood 2001; Cato and Brown 2003; Tlusty and al., 2013,). There were approximately 10% of American households that kept freshwater aquaria in 2017. These participation levels make home aquaria a great outreach option. It is crucial to know the past, present, and future effects on aquarists who keep these systems.
Interviews, content analysis, participant observation, and participant observation revealed a historical and modern link between science and art in aquarium keepers. This link appears to be stable with hobby participation being motivated by the beauty of aquatic organisms. The aquarium keeper is exposed to many scientific principles, methods, and processes through the operation of a successful aquarium. Although aquarium keeping may be motivated by aesthetic interests, it can also lead to a personal reaction toward aquatic organisms. This response is associated with scientific, conservation awareness, enjoyment, and interest, as well as with opinion-forming experiences and comprehension. The study shows that an aquarium can help aquarists connect to a more damaged aquatic world.
Introduction to Home Aquarium Keeping
Because of its high consumption past and present, home aquarium keeping is a poor source for scientific communication. Not only does this include the consumption of aquarium specimens, but also other related practices that adversely affect their habitats and populations. This includes collecting live corals and invertebrates like shrimp and crabs as well as abiotic structures (e.g. liverock). The history of the aquarium trade is also a factor (Wood 2001; Rhyne and al. 2009; Townsend 2011, 2011; Dee and al. 2014; Fujita, et. al. 2014), which likely contributes to the negative connotation associated with the hobby.
There is an enormous amount of literature on aquariums, with over 8,000 Google Scholar hits. However, the majority of it focuses on the effects of aquaculture on the environment at both ends of the supply chain. There are many studies that examine the effects of removing aquatic organisms in the wild (Parks et al. 2003; Jones et al. 2008); Rhyne et al. 2012; Bush and Marschke 2017, Duggan, Pullan 2017; Lorenzen et al. 2017); and the care and capture of organisms (Wood 2001; Jones et al. 2008; Bell et al. 2009; Militz et al. 2016, 2016).
Other factors can be studied once ornamental organisms have been collected. These include diseases that can be caused by aquatic organisms (Whittington et. al. 2007; Lawson, 2015); how to release invasive species (Padilla et. al. 2008; Delaney (2008); Howeth (2016); Bandaranayake et.al. 2017; Magalhaes 2017; Selwyn 2017; Tuckett 2017); and uses for popular aquarium species (Hoff 1996; Moe 2003; Moorhead et. al. 2011; Olivotto et to etto eta 2014; Dominguez Stella 2014; Dominguez Stella 2014; Tehrani eta 2014; Dominguee The human aspects of the hobby and aquarium trade are another area of research that is less well-known. Instead of studying the organisms themselves, we analyze the interactions between stakeholders. The aquarium hobby literature is growing (e.g. Maceda–Veiga and al., 2014), but it often overlooks the aquarium enthusiast as a population of research interests.
Links between Science and Art Communication
A captive ecosystem is an organism that depends on science to survive. James Shirley Hibberd (19th century part-time naturalist) documented the connection between aquaculture, art and science. Hibberd (1861). Modern aquarium keeping is a success story. Beautiful and creative ecosystems are created using a thorough understanding of the science behind the scenes.
Sources:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/350020
https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/8da3f2b5-c1e2-3afa-9532-a8e4a2c43351/
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