Experiential Key Species for Nature-disconnected Generations

An Expert-based Framework for Their A-priori Selection

Bibliographic Data

ID2162121
AuthorsCorrado Battisti (0000-0002-2621-3659, Torre Flavia’ LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) Station, Protected areas Service, Citta Metropoiitana di Roma Capitale, Rome, Italy), Alessandro Zocchi (Independent educational neuroscientist, via Graziano, 43, 00165, Rome, Italy)
Year2018
Volume31
Issue5
Pages627-644
Publication date2018-09-03
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnthrozoös (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0892-7936 • E-ISSN: 1753-0377
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08927936.2018.1505344
OpenAlexW2890237575
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited52

In urbanized contexts, a progressive disconnection from nature, mainly experienced by the youngest generation, is evident. In this sense, detection of species more suitable for a nature-related experience becomes of primary importance to increase pro-environmental behaviors in children. Here, we propose a simple, quick, and explorative procedure for selecting a set of Experiential Key Species (EKS). Two practical examples are provided for two contexts (a urban park and a suburban wetland) where a large amount of data on vertebrate animal species are available. Depending on their density and eco-behavioral features, each species stimulates different experiences, here considered as a product of intensity and frequency of occurrence. Therefore, for each species we calculated an Experiential Magnitude score on a three-level scale with an expert-based method. We obtained 14 EKS in the urban park site (18% of total) and 18 EKS in the suburban wetland site (9.4%). We observed that in both sites EKS mainly include: (i) heterotherm species (mainly, fishes, amphibians, and water-related reptiles) and (ii) non-native species (about 36% in the urban park and about 17% in the suburban wetland). This information suggests that (i) following a conservation zoning approach, lakes, streams, and their shores may be considered the best experiential sites for children, and (ii) in conservation measures aimed to improve experience and pro-environmental behaviors in younger generations, the role of non-native species (that are of low or null conservation interest) might be relevant. In-deed, individuals of these species (i) are easily detectable, and (ii) may be collected, handled, and farmed with a limited (or absent) impact on biodiversity. In many anthropized contexts, these are the only species that can provide nature experience for younger generations. Based on our observations, we recommend practitioners (i) to adopt the procedure of EKS selection in critical contexts, also adding further regime attributes (area utilized, seasonal duration) to calculate the experiential magnitude score, and (ii) to test the effectiveness of this selection in conservation education projects.Keywords: experiential magnitudeexpert-based approachframework procedurehuman-animal interactionnon-native species

Biology · Experiential learning · Key (lock · Selection (genetic algorithm · Animal and Plant Science Education · Computer Science · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Psychology · Urban Green Space and Health · Artificial Intelligence · Ecology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub