Public Knowledge of, and Attitudes to, Frogs in Colombia

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2161986
AutoresJuliana Nates Jimenez (University of Zurich), Petra Lindemann-Matthies (0000-0003-1876-5784, Karlsruhe University of Education)
Año2015
Volumen28
Número2
Páginas319-332
Fecha de publicación2015-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAnthrozoös (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0892-7936 • E-ISSN: 1753-0377
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08927936.2015.11435405
OpenAlexW4246705704
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas49

People's response to the decline of biodiversity and their support for conservation measures depends on their knowledge of biodiversity and their attitudes to local species. This study is one of the first to investigate public knowledge of, and attitudes to, frogs in South America. We chose two study regions, the semi-urban region of Pensilvania and the rural region of Florencia. In spring 2011, 565 individuals completed a written questionnaire and a subsequent picture test. Overall, the public's attitudes to, and knowledge of frogs, were rather poor. Direct experiences and community elders were the major source of knowledge of frogs for participants in Florencia, whereas electronic media was the main source of knowledge in Pensilvania. Most participants felt that frogs are of high conservation value and important for medical and ecological purposes. The more strongly participants agreed that frogs are useful, of medicinal value, and beautiful, the more strongly they agreed that they should be conserved. Our results indicate that conservation education activities in schools and elsewhere are needed to improve people's knowledge of, and attitudes to, frogs. More positive attitudes toward local amphibian species might lead to an appreciation of their value and willingness to conserve them.Keywords: attitudesColombiafrogsknowledgequestionnaire

Amphibian · Biodiversity · Biodiversity conservation · Biology · Political science · Public opinion · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Traditional knowledge · Value (mathematics · Amphibian and Reptile Biology · Animal and Plant Science Education · Psychology · Species Distribution and Climate Change · Ecology