Public awareness of extinction threats in European threatened species

(Oral)

Ivan Jaric

ivan.jaric@hbu.cas.cz

Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic, Czech Republic

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Ricardo Correia

DBIO & CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal; Institute of Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Av. Lourival Melo Mota, Maceió, AL, Brazil, Portugal

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Franck Courchamp

Ecologie, Systématique, and Evolution, Univ. Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France, France

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Gregor Kalinkat

Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany, Germany

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Yves Meinard

Université Paris Dauphine, PSL Research University, CNRS, Paris, France, France

,

David Roberts

Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology & Conservation, Marlowe Building, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom, United Kingdom

The level of societal awareness of and interest in major threats facing endangered species is a critical determining factor for public support for conservation initiatives and programs, which might in turn impact conservation funding, effectiveness, and policy. Based on a quantitative analysis of internet webpages, we assessed the internet salience of climate change and invasive species as key threats to threatened amphibian, reptile, bird and mammal species in France, Germany and United Kingdom. The analysis indicated a higher prominence of climate change, as well as a higher prominence of the two threats in native species than in species that are inhabiting other countries and regions. The two threats received better recognition in threatened than in non-threatened species, while the patterns also differed among the four species groups and the three countries. Internet salience generally matched the established susceptibility of species to the two threats, as identified by species experts within the IUCN Red List. We discuss major implications of the results and policy recommendations.

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