Public choice of species for the ‘Ark’: Phylogenetic similarity and preferred wildlife species for survival

Abstract

The paper reports the findings of an experimental survey conducted to determine the public's willingness to pay for the protection and conservation of the golden-shouldered parrot in Australia. This parrot is endemic to Australia and is one of Australia's most endangered birds. The paper examines the public's knowledge of this parrot and compares it with other endangered birds as well as common birds and the public's willingness to pay for conservation from a hypothetical allocation of money based on their current knowledge. We then examine how this allocation changes with increased knowledge about all species.Comparisons are made. HOW KNOWLEDGE AFFECTS PAYMENTTO CONSERVE AN ENDANGERED BIRD IntroductionThe public's knowledge of birds and other wildlife is important because such knowledge has the potential to influence the public's support for conservation (Wilson and Tisdell, in press).This includes both monetary and non-monetary support. This is especially so for species that are endangered and not well known by the public. When knowledge of wildlife is low, the economic and other values the public place on them is likely to be lower than otherwise. On the other hand when the current status and threats of species are better known, it enables the public to make more balanced decisions giving more support to species that are more in need than those that are common or less threatened.The aim of the paper is to examine how the public's knowledge affects their stated payment to conserve an endangered Australian bird, namely the golden-shouldered parrot. This parrot is one of Australia's most beautiful, but endangered and is restricted to a few localities in far north Queensland, Australia. There are several threats affecting this species and it is now estimated that the population of this bird is less than 2000 breeding birds in the wild (McNaughton, (2002). Although a recovery action plan has been in operation since the mid1990s to protect and conserve this species, it is also important to obtain the support (monetary and otherwise) of the public for its conservation. However, this is largely dependent on the knowledge and experience the public have about the species. It turns out that this endangered parrot is poorly known because of its restricted range and low publicity given to it (it is not a flagship species). As a result, this lack of knowledge could seriously jeopardize the support the public could potentially give for its conservation. This issue is examined in detail from many angles, both before and after provision of balanced information and after giving the participants an opportunity to see this endangered bird. Randall et al. (1974) have discussed the potential role information provision can have on value estimates using the CVM. Samples et al. (1986) have demonstrated that information disclosure (such as its current status, e.g. animal being endangered) has an impact on the participants' WTP allocations. Their work was conducted using separate sample groups. Our study is unique because we sh...

Towards a societal discourse on invasive species management: A case study of public perceptions of mink and beavers in Cape Horn

“…Beyond these findings, other studies have already disclosed a variety of attributes shaping attitudes towards species like for example previous population change, harmlessness, ecological function or phylogenetic similarity to humans (Fischer, Langers, Bednar-Friedl, Geamana, & Skogen 2010;Montgomery 2002;Tisdell, Wilson, & Nantha 2006). Further investigation is therefore needed to determine the relative importance of the invasion criterion among the other attributes playing a role in public opinions of species.…”

Human preferences for species conservation: Animal charisma trumps endangered status

“…The preference among humans for animal species similar to them has been formalized as the Similar Principle Theory (Plous 1993). This theory is supported by the findings of a research team in Australia, which showed that respondents appeared to favour the survival of mammals rather than birds or reptiles (Tisdell et al 2006). Another study in the United States showed that physical characteristics (e.g.…”

“…Most studies have focused on the value given to ecosystems (Balmford et al 2004). Among the few studies that have explored the value given to species, all of them, to our knowledge, have relied on participants' self-reported hypothetical species choices or intentions to support a program (Gunnthorsdottir 2001, Tisdell et al 2006, rather than on their actual behaviour (i.e. real money invested).…”

Roads and macropods: interactions and implications

“…The general public and tourists are familiar with some macropod species and regard them as iconic and valued wildlife (Tisdell et al 2005(Tisdell et al , 2006. However, due to their wide-ranging distributions and high mobility, macropods may be especially vulnerable to the disturbances associated with roads (Ramp 2010).…”