Abstract
As conservation agents, biologists play a central role in nature preservation as information-gatherers, promoters of environmental education, lobbyists, and members of societies. Consequently, it is important to understand what factors determine their attitudes towards conservation. We aimed to assess which taxa and recovery measures students from biology core courses consider priorities for conservation and to determine the value students associate with conservation compared to other topics. We asked students (n = 122) from two private universities in São Paulo State, Brazil to fill out an anonymous questionnaire. They highlighted rarity, vanishing habitats and endemism as important criteria in prioritizing species. Carnivores were identified as the most threatened mammals and habitat recovery was deemed to be the most efficient conservation action. Students valued healthcare, cultural heritage and science over conservation. Our results reveal a two-sided perspective of conservation among students from biology core courses; they possess knowledge of conservation issues but are greatly influenced by anthropocentric and utilitarian views of nature.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Universidade do Sagrado Coração and Fundação Regional Educacional de Avaré for authorizing this research, and the students for answering the questionnaires. This work was supported by CAPES under a BMS Grant; University of Aveiro (Department of Biology), CESAM and FCT/MEC through national funds, and by co-funding from FEDER within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020 under project (number UID/AMB/50017).
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Gheler-Costa, C., Soncksen, B.M., Santos, G.M.C. et al. Perceptions of nature conservation by future biologists attending private universities in São Paulo State, Brazil. Ecol Res 33, 1125–1135 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-018-1621-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-018-1621-1