How much biotic nativeness matters across human demographic groups

Area of Science:

• Conservation Biology
• Human Ecology
• Environmental Sociology

Background:

• Central conservation biology concepts like nativeness are influenced by social and ecological factors.
• The social implications of using nativeness in conservation decisions are not fully understood.
• Nativeness may mask social values, leading to prioritization of native species despite declines in non-native ones.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess public perceptions of native and non-native bird declines in Metro Vancouver.
• To measure ecological grief and loss of cultural ecosystem services related to bird declines.
• To examine how nature experiences and sociodemographics, particularly race, influence these perceptions.

Main Methods:

• Surveyed 600 people in Metro Vancouver about bird declines.
• Measured ecological grief and cultural ecosystem service loss for native and non-native birds.
• Employed a two-treatment experimental design, informing half about species nativeness.
• Analyzed perceptions based on familiarity, experiences, sociodemographics, and race.

Main Results:

• Perceptions of loss varied with bird familiarity, experiences, and native status.
• Race was the strongest moderator: only White individuals reported greater grief for native species declines.
• Ecological knowledge, urbanicity, or nature experiences did not moderate the effect of nativeness on grief.

Conclusions:

• Relying solely on native status for conservation may lead to unintended sociodemographic and equity issues.
• Race significantly influences emotional responses to species declines, highlighting equity concerns in conservation.
• Ecological grief and cultural ecosystem service measures effectively reveal complex human-nature relationships, including those with non-native species.