- Title
- Perceptions of birds by urban residents in an Australian regional city and implications for conservation
- Creator
- Champness, Brendan; Fitzsimons, James; Kendal, Dave; Palmer, Grant
- Date
- 2023
- Type
- Text; Journal article
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/197593
- Identifier
- vital:18904
- Identifier
-
https://doi.org/10.3390/birds4030022
- Identifier
- ISSN:2673-6004 (ISSN)
- Abstract
- Given the prevalence of common and threatened bird species within cities, more research is necessary to determine human attitudes to urban birds and how this may affect conservation in urban areas In Australia, few studies have considered the impact of human attitudes on birds; those that have focused primarily on particular species. In this study, we aim to understand the perceptions of urban residents of an Australian city (Ballarat) by examining the ways they categorise birds (using the multiple sorting technique). We found that people were particularly enamored by large, exotic species, but if familiar to them, native species were positively perceived by people. People tended to view aggressive species negatively, but only where this aggression was directed at humans. This approach gained important insight into the attitudes of these urban residents to local birds and their conservation. We used this insight to suggest how attitudes to avian species conservation may inform conservation initiatives and methods for maintaining biological diversity in urban areas. © 2023 by the authors.
- Publisher
- Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
- Relation
- Birds Vol. 4, no. 3 (2023), p. 262-276
- Rights
- All metadata describing materials held in, or linked to, the repository is freely available under a CC0 licence
- Rights
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Rights
- Copyright © 2023 by the authors
- Rights
- Open Access
- Subject
- 3109 Zoology; Bird traits; Public perceptions; Urban birds; Valuing species
- Full Text
- Reviewed
- Funder
- This research was supported by Federation University Australia through a Ph.D. scholarship to B.S.C.
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