The importance of competition theme in reducing taxonomic bias in the Threatened Species Bake Off

Abstract

AbstractIn 2023, Forster et al. published an article on the effectiveness of social media in conservation messaging for the Threatened Species Commissioner's Threatened Species Bake Off. The research of species represented in cakes revealed persistent biases favouring charismatic mammals and birds over less charismatic taxa like plants. The authors recommended future iterations of the Bake Off focus on less popular threatened species to address these biases, whilst highlighting the utility of the data available on social media platforms. In this follow‐up article, we examine the impact of the theme choice by the Office of the Threatened Species Commissioner which was directly influenced by the previous publication's findings. The 2023 theme, ‘Loving the unlovely and getting to know the unknown’, aimed to increase participation by focusing on plants and the under‐represented. Results indicated a notable increase in representation of these groups compared with previous years, suggesting theme selection significantly influences public engagement. The study emphasizes the potential of social media platforms in raising awareness and fostering pro‐conservation behaviours, highlighting their role in shaping public perceptions and supporting policy changes for species conservation, and lists recommendations for future iterations of such campaigns.