Cargando…
Species identification skills predict in-depth knowledge about species
To raise biodiversity awareness effectively, communicators should be aware of knowledge levels in their audiences. Species identification skills have been used in the past as a measure of what people know about species, yet it is not known whether they serve as good indicators. To study the link bet...
Autores principales: | , , , |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Public Library of Science
2022
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9015127/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35436302 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266972 |
_version_ | 1784688321628209152 |
---|---|
author | Hooykaas, Michiel Jan Dirk Schilthuizen, Menno Albers, Casper Johannes Smeets, Ionica |
author_facet | Hooykaas, Michiel Jan Dirk Schilthuizen, Menno Albers, Casper Johannes Smeets, Ionica |
author_sort | Hooykaas, Michiel Jan Dirk |
collection | PubMed |
description | To raise biodiversity awareness effectively, communicators should be aware of knowledge levels in their audiences. Species identification skills have been used in the past as a measure of what people know about species, yet it is not known whether they serve as good indicators. To study the link between species identification and in-depth species knowledge, we presented an animal knowledge test to an online audience of over 7,000 Dutch adults, and used correlation and regression analyses to determine the extent to which species identification predicts in-depth knowledge about species’ origin, habitat, diet, and behavior. We found that in-depth knowledge was higher in those who correctly identified species as compared with those who did not correctly identify species, for all four types of in-depth knowledge. Moreover, as compared to alternative variables (work, age, gender, and educational level), species identification was by far the best predictor for in-depth knowledge about species. However, species identification levels were generally higher than levels of in-depth knowledge, and knowledge gaps and misconceptions were uncovered. The results confirm the value of species identification tests, but also highlight limitations and challenges that should be taken into account when establishing knowledge levels and communicating biodiversity. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-9015127 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2022 |
publisher | Public Library of Science |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-90151272022-04-19 Species identification skills predict in-depth knowledge about species Hooykaas, Michiel Jan Dirk Schilthuizen, Menno Albers, Casper Johannes Smeets, Ionica PLoS One Research Article To raise biodiversity awareness effectively, communicators should be aware of knowledge levels in their audiences. Species identification skills have been used in the past as a measure of what people know about species, yet it is not known whether they serve as good indicators. To study the link between species identification and in-depth species knowledge, we presented an animal knowledge test to an online audience of over 7,000 Dutch adults, and used correlation and regression analyses to determine the extent to which species identification predicts in-depth knowledge about species’ origin, habitat, diet, and behavior. We found that in-depth knowledge was higher in those who correctly identified species as compared with those who did not correctly identify species, for all four types of in-depth knowledge. Moreover, as compared to alternative variables (work, age, gender, and educational level), species identification was by far the best predictor for in-depth knowledge about species. However, species identification levels were generally higher than levels of in-depth knowledge, and knowledge gaps and misconceptions were uncovered. The results confirm the value of species identification tests, but also highlight limitations and challenges that should be taken into account when establishing knowledge levels and communicating biodiversity. Public Library of Science 2022-04-18 /pmc/articles/PMC9015127/ /pubmed/35436302 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266972 Text en © 2022 Hooykaas et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
spellingShingle | Research Article Hooykaas, Michiel Jan Dirk Schilthuizen, Menno Albers, Casper Johannes Smeets, Ionica Species identification skills predict in-depth knowledge about species |
title | Species identification skills predict in-depth knowledge about species |
title_full | Species identification skills predict in-depth knowledge about species |
title_fullStr | Species identification skills predict in-depth knowledge about species |
title_full_unstemmed | Species identification skills predict in-depth knowledge about species |
title_short | Species identification skills predict in-depth knowledge about species |
title_sort | species identification skills predict in-depth knowledge about species |
topic | Research Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9015127/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35436302 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266972 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT hooykaasmichieljandirk speciesidentificationskillspredictindepthknowledgeaboutspecies AT schilthuizenmenno speciesidentificationskillspredictindepthknowledgeaboutspecies AT alberscasperjohannes speciesidentificationskillspredictindepthknowledgeaboutspecies AT smeetsionica speciesidentificationskillspredictindepthknowledgeaboutspecies |