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Marine debris poses a significant threat to marine wildlife. Given human action is responsible for this litter, reducing debris in the marine environment and rates of marine wildlife entanglement (MWE) (i.e. marine animals that are trapped in debris, such as fishing nets or plastic) rests on public education and action. This study investigated the effectiveness of the Seal the Loop (STL) initiative at Melbourne Zoo, Australia, which was designed to meet these aims. The research used visitor surveys following a visit to a fur‐seal exhibit and/or educational fur‐seal show experience (n = 180 visitors). The findings from this study suggest that participants understand the causes and effects of MWE after visiting the fur‐seal exhibit and/or watching the STL show, with both groups accurately appraising that MWE presents a significant risk to marine wildlife (mean = 84·28/100, sd = 17·97, and mean = 88·61/100, sd = 13·39, respectively). However, between‐group differences also emerged, with show visitors more likely to report learning something new, more likely to be familiar with the STL programme and its aims, displaying more positive attitudes towards marine animals and their conservation, and reporting both a higher willingness to change their future behaviour to support marine conservation (P = 0·052) and a higher perception that their individual action could make a difference (P < 0·05). This study adds to the literature regarding how interactive shows with storytelling can complement traditional static displays, as well as informing our understanding of the interplay between public knowledge/attitudes/behaviours in relation to marine debris and marine‐conservation issues. It is hoped this research will contribute to the ongoing development of education initiatives at zoos and aquariums to enable them to achieve their conservation missions.

Zoos and aquariums are increasingly incorporating conservation education into their mission statements and visitor experiences to address global biodiversity loss. To advance knowledge and practice in the field, research is being conducted to evaluate the effect of zoo conservation-education experiences on visitor psychosocial outcomes (e.g., knowledge, attitude, emotions, motivations, behavior). Following recent discussions among scholars and practitioners concerning logistical and methodological challenges that likely undermine the conclusions of such research, we identified and reviewed the methods and reporting practices in peer-reviewed articles published in English from May 1998 to June 2016 that focused on adult visitor samples (47 articles, 48 studies). We examined elements of internal, external, construct, and statistical conclusion validity. Methodological quality of quantitative methods and reporting practices was determined using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool. Each study was coded as either strong (no weak ratings), moderate (1 weak rating), or weak (≥2 weak ratings). The quantitative methods of 83.3% of studies were weak. The remaining 16.7% had methods of moderate quality. Using an existing checklist, we also assessed the quality and rigor of qualitative methods and reporting practices and found that some aspects of these methods were reported more comprehensively than others. For example, 69.6% of articles discussed methods for identifying key themes from the data, whereas only 34.8% reported how data verification was performed. We suggest increased application of intensive longitudinal methods (e.g., daily diary) to strengthen self-reported data, experimental and repeated-measures designs, and mixed-methods approaches. Our findings and recommendations could strengthen and guide the research and evaluation agenda for the field and ultimately enhance the contribution zoos make to global biodiversity conservation.

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Conservation marketing holds potential as a means to engage audiences with biodiversity conservation and help to address the human dimensions of biodiversity loss. Empirical evaluations of conservation marketing indicatives are growing, so we reviewed the literature on this research to inform future directions in the field. We used a systematic search strategy to identify studies that evaluated the effects of conservation marketing interventions (techniques and campaigns) on psychosocial outcomes, categorized as cognitive, affective, or behavioral. Six academic databases (Business Source Complete, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Greenfile, Proquest, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collections), 3 gray‐literature databases (BASE, Zenodo, and Google Scholar), and 2 websites (Rare and WildAid) were searched. Articles were subjected to critical appraisal to assess their methodological quality, and data were extracted from each article and analyzed using narrative synthesis. Altogether 28 studies from 26 articles were included in the review. Twenty‐five studies were conducted from 2014 through 2016. Methodological quality of most studies was weak (n = 16, 57%) (moderate quality n = 8, 29%; high quality n = 4, 14%). The proportion of studies that evaluated a conservation‐marketing technique (e.g., variants of texts, images, or videos) versus a campaign (e.g., community‐based campaigns targeting locally relevant issues, such as unsustainable palm oil agriculture, light pollution, or wood fuel fire use) was relatively balanced. Although many studies reported statistically significant results in the intended direction, the utility of findings was limited by persistent methodological limitations, such as a lack of a comparator group, use of non‐validated assessment tools, and a focus on self‐reported data and subjective outcomes. Conservation marketing is clearly a nascent field of scientific enquiry that warrants further, high‐quality research investigations.