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The paradoxical extinction of the most charismatic animals

Courchamp, Franck; Jarić, Ivan; Albert, Céline; Meinard, Yves; Ripple, William J.; Chapron, Guillaume (2018), The paradoxical extinction of the most charismatic animals, PLOS Biology, 16, 4. 10.1371/journal.pbio.2003997

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Type
Article accepté pour publication ou publié
Date
2018
Journal name
PLOS Biology
Volume
16
Number
4
Publication identifier
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Author(s)
Courchamp, Franck
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Ecologie Systématique et Evolution [ESE]
Jarić, Ivan

Albert, Céline cc
Ecologie Systématique et Evolution [ESE]
Meinard, Yves
Laboratoire d'analyse et modélisation de systèmes pour l'aide à la décision [LAMSADE]
Ripple, William J.
University of Oregon
Chapron, Guillaume
Abstract (EN)
A widespread opinion is that conservation efforts disproportionately benefit charismatic species. However, this doesn’t mean that they are not threatened, and which species are “charismatic” remains unclear. Here, we identify the 10 most charismatic animals and show that they are at high risk of imminent extinction in the wild. We also find that the public ignores these animals’ predicament and we suggest it could be due to the observed biased perception of their abundance, based more on their profusion in our culture than on their natural populations. We hypothesize that this biased perception impairs conservation efforts because people are unaware that the animals they cherish face imminent extinction and do not perceive their urgent need for conservation. By freely using the image of rare and threatened species in their product marketing, many companies may participate in creating this biased perception, with unintended detrimental effects on conservation efforts, which should be compensated by channeling part of the associated profits to conservation. According to our hypothesis, this biased perception would be likely to last as long as the massive cultural and commercial presence of charismatic species is not accompanied by adequate information campaigns about the imminent threats they face.
Subjects / Keywords
charismatic species; animal extinction
JEL
Q57 - Ecological Economics: Ecosystem Services; Biodiversity Conservation; Bioeconomics; Industrial Ecology