Prioritisation of Charismatic Animals in Major Conservation Journals Measured by the Altmetric Attention Score

Abstract

Large, charismatic animals trigger human emotional responses, which consequently result in taxonomic biases that have been proven in various fields. In our research, we analysed the representation of animals and plants in scientific papers published in three major conservation journals (Conservation Biology, Journal of Applied Ecology and Conservation Letters) between 2011 and 2020. Furthermore, we examined the Altmetric Attention Score (AAS) and each paper’s total number of citations focused exclusively on a single taxon (59% of all papers). Mammals were represented on journal cover pages significantly more frequently than other taxa, while reptiles, amphibians and fish were underrepresented. The total number of published papers and the AAS favoured mammals significantly, while reptiles, plants and amphibians received the lowest AAS. The AAS of mammals was positively influenced by the body mass and appeal score. Scientific citations showed a slight correlation with the AAS. Papers about mammals, invertebrates and amphibians received the most citations, followed by plants, fish, birds and reptiles. These results showed that there are taxonomic biases that favour large mammals over other taxa, both among scientists as well as the public. Therefore, publication policy should be changed in order to support the shift of scientists and, subsequently, public interest itself toward neglected taxa.

Global Overview of Environmental Enrichment Studies: What Has Been Done and Future Directions

“…In the present study, laboratory and farm animals were the ones that received the most EE, and, in these places, rodents, primates, carnivores, and cetartiodactyls were the most present. Mammals tend to be more charismatic species for humans [ 72 ] and larger than most specimens from other groups, which increases their charisma [ 73 ]. In addition, they are usually available in greater numbers for study because they are present in laboratories [ 46 ], and many are used in the production of food [ 74 ].…”

Enhancing Attention and Interest in Plants to Mitigate Plant Awareness Disparity

“…Zani and Low [28] experimentally manipulated the presence of large mammals (e.g., horses, cows) next to plants and did not investigate the affective domains of plant perception by people. Large, charismatic mammals attract people [33,[59][60][61] uncomparably more than insects [62][63][64][65], the most common pollinators of plants. Unlike other vertebrate pollinators in this study, the honey possum did not influence the attractiveness and WTP plants.…”

“…PAD has non-negligible consequences on policy on illegal wildlife trade and a more widespread impact on conservation science [22,24,32]. Scientists publish fewer papers focused on plants in conservation journals compared to papers about animals [33], and research on plants is biased toward blue-coloured plants, irrespective of their conservation status [34]. Lower attention to plants is consequently translated into lower funding in conservation than animals [17,35,36], despite plant extinction reaching its maximal peak in written human history [37].…”

Charismatic species should be large: The role of admiration and fear

“…For instance, people prefer large animals in zoos, despite large body sizes being more costly for maintenance rather than smaller body sizes and mammals (Frynta et al, 2010; Landová et al, 2018; Ward et al, 1998), and zoos predominantly display large‐bodied vertebrates and less‐threatening species to satisfy people's preferences (Balmford et al, 1995; Conde et al, 2011; Fa et al, 2014; Martin et al, 2014). People are also more prone to sponsor large‐bodied mammals in zoos over other species (Fančovičová et al, 2021) and share information that favours large mammals via social networks more than about small‐bodied mammals (Prokop et al, 2022).…”