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On the overlap between scientific and societal taxonomic attentions - insights for conservation

Jarić, Ivan; Correia, Ricardo A.; Roberts, David L.; Gessner, Jörn; Meinard, Yves; Courchamp, Franck (2019), On the overlap between scientific and societal taxonomic attentions - insights for conservation, Science of The Total Environment, 648, p. 772-778. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.198

Type
Article accepté pour publication ou publié
Date
2019
Journal name
Science of The Total Environment
Volume
648
Publisher
Elsevier
Pages
772-778
Publication identifier
Metadata
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Author(s)
Jarić, Ivan
Institute for Multidisciplinary Research [Belgrade] [IMSI]
Correia, Ricardo A.
School of Geography and the Environment [Oxford] [SoGE]
Institute of Biological and Health Sciences
Roberts, David L.
Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology
Gessner, Jörn

Meinard, Yves
Laboratoire d'analyse et modélisation de systèmes pour l'aide à la décision [LAMSADE]
Courchamp, Franck
Ecologie Systématique et Evolution [ESE]
Under the direction of
Abstract (EN)
Attention directed at different species by society and science is particularly relevant within the field of conservation, as societal preferences will strongly impact support for conservation initiatives and their success. Here, we assess the association between societal and research interests in four charismatic and threatened species groups, derived from a range of different online sources and social media platforms as well as scientific publications. We found a high level of concordance between scientific and societal taxonomic attention, which was consistent among assessed species groups and media sources. Results indicate that research is apparently not as disconnected from the interests of society as it is often reproached, and that societal support for current research objectives should be adequate. While the high degree of similarity between scientific and societal interest is both striking and satisfying, the dissimilarities are also interesting, as new scientific findings may constitute a constant source of novel interest for the society. In that respect, additional efforts will be necessary to draw scientific and societal focus towards less charismatic species that are in urgent need of research and conservation attention.
Subjects / Keywords
Societal attention; Charisma; Birds of prey; Primates; Carnivora; Marine mammals