Human Dimensions and Visitors’ Perspective in Freshwater Crayfish Conservation: The Case of a Protected Area in Italy

Author:

Mercugliano Elena12ORCID,Messina Valeria3ORCID,Bonelli Marco45ORCID,Manenti Raoul34ORCID,Scaccini Davide4ORCID,Ferrante Linda2,Biasetti Pierfrancesco26ORCID,de Mori Barbara12

Affiliation:

1. Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, 35020 Padua, Italy

2. Ethics Laboratory for Veterinary Medicine, Conservation and Animal Welfare, University of Padua, 35020 Padua, Italy

3. Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy

4. Associazione WWF Lecco, 23851 Galbiate, Italy

5. Department of Biosciences, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy

6. Department of Reproduction Management, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, D-10315 Berlin, Germany

Abstract

Human dimensions in endangered species conservation are often overlooked. However, including human dimensions in conservation projects can help conservationists integrate social and ecological dimensions and investigate individual or society’s perspectives toward conservation efforts. The aim of this study was to investigate how visitors of a protected area perceived the conservation of the native white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes), a species recently brought to disappearance by the introduction of the spiny-cheek crayfish (Faxonius limosus). From August to October 2017, we distributed a questionnaire to park visitors, aiming to: (i) identify behaviors that could affect the conservation of the native crayfish after reintroduction; (ii) investigate if visitors’ awareness and knowledge of native freshwater crayfish may increase approval for conservation initiatives. Of the 290 respondents, most (73%) had never heard of alien species. The respondents’ inclination to be favorable to resource investment and alien crayfish eradication and to perform specific educational training was significantly related to their knowledge of crayfish features. Knowledge of freshwater crayfish features resulted in being a main determinant in affecting visitors’ attitudes towards conservation initiatives. These results confirm that visitors’ awareness can increase approval for conservation programs and the importance of investigating the proper human dimensions before establishing management actions for endangered species.

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

Nature and Landscape Conservation,Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous),Ecological Modeling,Ecology

Cited by 1 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3