Mike Shanahan is a British biologist and writer whose work focuses on rainforests, climate change, biodiversity and related issues. He studied at the University of Leeds, where he received a BSc in biology, MSc in biodiversity and conservation and PhD in rainforest ecology.University of Leeds. Faculty of Biological Sciences. Graduate Profile: Dr Mike Shanahan Between 1997 and 1999, he undertook research in the rainforest of Lambir Hills National Park, in Sarawak, Borneo, and on an island volcano: Long Island, Papua New Guinea.Shanahan, M. 2000. Ficus seed dispersal guilds: ecology, evolution and conservation implications. PhD Thesis. University of Leeds.Shanahan, M. et al. 2001. Colonization of an island volcano, Long Island, Papua New Guinea, and an emergent island, Motmot, in its caldera lake. V. Colonization by figs (Ficus spp.), their dispersers and pollinators. Journal of Biogeography 28: 1365–1377. His research focused on figs (Ficus species) and the animals that eat them.Shanahan, M. et al. 2001. Fig-eating by vertebrate frugivores: a global review. Biological Reviews 76: 529–572.
From 2001 to 2004, Shanahan worked for the Environmental Justice Foundation on projects related to pesticide poisoning in Cambodia, bear farming in Vietnam and the social and environmental impacts of shrimp farming throughout the tropics.Death in Small Doses EJF. 2003. Death in Small Doses: Cambodia’s Pesticides Problems and Solutions. Environmental Justice Foundation, London, UK. From 2004 to 2007, he was news editor of SciDev.Net.LinkedIn - Mike Shanahan In 2005, he and colleagues won the 'Best Science Writing on the World Wide Web' prize in the Association of British Science Writers Awards, for their coverage of the Indian Ocean tsunami.ABSW Science Writers' Awards for Britain and Ireland. Previous winners - 2005. Shanahan has also written for Nature, The Economist, The Ecologist and Ensia.Amazon.com author page: Mike Shanahan
From 2006 to 2014, Shanahan was the International Institute for Environment and Development's press officer.LinkedIn - Mike Shanahan He published research and guidance on media coverage of climate change, biodiversity and pastoralism.Shanahan, M. 2007. Talking about a Revolution: Climate change and the media. An IIED briefing. International Institute for Environment and Development; Shanahan, M. 2009. COP15 for journalists: a guide to the UN climate change summit. An IIED briefing; Shanahan, M. 2009. Time to Adapt? Media coverage of climate change in non-industrialised countries. Chapter 12 in Climate Change and the Media. Edited by Tammy Boyce & Justin Lewis. Peter Lang Publishing.; Shanahan, M. 2011. Why the Media Matters in a Warming World: A guide for policymakers in the global South. A Climate Change Media Partnership briefing paper.Shanahan, M. 2008. Entangled in the Web of Life: Biodiversity and the media. An IIED briefing. International Institute for Environment and DevelopmentShanahan, M. 2013. Following the herd: why pastoralism needs better media coverage. IIED briefing paper.; Shanahan, M. 2013. Media perceptions and portrayals of pastoralists in Kenya, India and China. Gatekeepers 154. In 2007, Shanahan and colleagues at Internews' Earth Journalism Network and Panos London co-founded the Climate Change Media Partnership, which has enabled more than 170 journalists from developing countries to report on UN climate change negotiations.Improving journalists’ capacity to cover climate change: the Climate Change Media Partnership, accessed 3 August 2016FEATURE: CDKN-backed Southern journalists spread the word about climate change, accessed 3 August 2016IIED. Climate Change Media Partnership
In September 2016, Unbound will publish Shanahan's book: Ladders to Heaven: How fig trees shaped our history, fed our imaginations and can enrich our future.Ladders to Heaven In November 2016, Chelsea Green Publishing will publish the book in North American with a new title: Gods, Wasps, and Stranglers: The Secret History and Redemptive Future of Fig Trees.Chelsea Green Publishing. Gods, Wasps and Stranglers. Shanahan illustrated Ladders to Heaven and Ross Piper's Extraordinary Animals.Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals
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