Dominant attitudes and values toward wildlife and the environment in coastal Alabama
Abstract Surveys assessing attitudes and values about the environment can help predict human behavior toward wildlife and develop effective conservation goals alongside local communities. Coastal Alabama, in the southeastern United States, is a hotspot for biodiversity and endemism and needs protect...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Conservation Science and Practice |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12957 |
| _version_ | 1797754564826365952 |
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| author | Sarah Weber Hertel Jana Stupavsky Kristine Alford Hannah R. Hicks Andrew Heaton Nathan Katlein Brandon T. Hastings Adam Stern Stephanie Jett Andrew Y. Wang Bin Wang Scott Glaberman Ylenia Chiari |
| author_facet | Sarah Weber Hertel Jana Stupavsky Kristine Alford Hannah R. Hicks Andrew Heaton Nathan Katlein Brandon T. Hastings Adam Stern Stephanie Jett Andrew Y. Wang Bin Wang Scott Glaberman Ylenia Chiari |
| author_sort | Sarah Weber Hertel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Surveys assessing attitudes and values about the environment can help predict human behavior toward wildlife and develop effective conservation goals alongside local communities. Coastal Alabama, in the southeastern United States, is a hotspot for biodiversity and endemism and needs protection. Land and wildlife management practices in Alabama have moved from indigenous‐led, which is more in harmony with the environment, to larger‐scale exploitative uses for agriculture and plantations. We therefore predicted that a large proportion of the population has a dominant view of the environment in which land and wildlife are primarily for human benefit. To test this hypothesis, we surveyed over 1300 residents in Mobile and Baldwin counties—the two southernmost counties in Alabama—to assess attitudes toward local vertebrate wildlife, knowledge of the region's biodiversity, and whether individuals value protected areas where they live and/or work. As hunting is generally considered a dominant behavior, we used self‐identified hunters versus non‐hunters to examine the relationship between humans and the environment. Overall, hunters would kill or kill to eat more often than non‐hunters, and would kill even when it is not for food. Furthermore, regardless of hunting status, most participants in our survey would kill a snake, indicating that targeted environmental education is needed for this group. Both hunters and non‐hunters, independently of demographic differences including education and income levels, were not familiar with the especially rich biodiversity of the area and would not be willing to invest money to protect it. Our results indicate that targeted education about the unique and rich biodiversity of southern Alabama compared to the rest of the United States is needed to support successful environmental management, conservation actions, and local participation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:35:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1b98630a0bdb4573a4207b787c30d61e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2578-4854 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:35:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Conservation Science and Practice |
| spelling | doaj.art-1b98630a0bdb4573a4207b787c30d61e2023-08-04T11:36:29ZengWileyConservation Science and Practice2578-48542023-08-0158n/an/a10.1111/csp2.12957Dominant attitudes and values toward wildlife and the environment in coastal AlabamaSarah Weber Hertel0Jana Stupavsky1Kristine Alford2Hannah R. Hicks3Andrew Heaton4Nathan Katlein5Brandon T. Hastings6Adam Stern7Stephanie Jett8Andrew Y. Wang9Bin Wang10Scott Glaberman11Ylenia Chiari12Department of Environmental Science and Policy George Mason University Fairfax Virginia USASouth Alabama Center for Business Analytics, Real Estate, and Economic Development University of South Alabama Mobile Alabama USADepartment of Biology University of South Alabama Mobile Alabama USADepartment of Biology University of South Alabama Mobile Alabama USAGrand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Moss Point Mississippi USADepartment of Biology George Mason University Fairfax Virginia USADepartment of Biology George Mason University Fairfax Virginia USAGenetic Diversity Bank Milledgeville Georgia USADepartment of Psychological Science Georgia College & State University Milledgeville Georgia USAOakton High School Vienna Virginia USADepartment of Mathematics and Statistics University of South Alabama Mobile Alabama USADepartment of Environmental Science and Policy George Mason University Fairfax Virginia USADepartment of Biology George Mason University Fairfax Virginia USAAbstract Surveys assessing attitudes and values about the environment can help predict human behavior toward wildlife and develop effective conservation goals alongside local communities. Coastal Alabama, in the southeastern United States, is a hotspot for biodiversity and endemism and needs protection. Land and wildlife management practices in Alabama have moved from indigenous‐led, which is more in harmony with the environment, to larger‐scale exploitative uses for agriculture and plantations. We therefore predicted that a large proportion of the population has a dominant view of the environment in which land and wildlife are primarily for human benefit. To test this hypothesis, we surveyed over 1300 residents in Mobile and Baldwin counties—the two southernmost counties in Alabama—to assess attitudes toward local vertebrate wildlife, knowledge of the region's biodiversity, and whether individuals value protected areas where they live and/or work. As hunting is generally considered a dominant behavior, we used self‐identified hunters versus non‐hunters to examine the relationship between humans and the environment. Overall, hunters would kill or kill to eat more often than non‐hunters, and would kill even when it is not for food. Furthermore, regardless of hunting status, most participants in our survey would kill a snake, indicating that targeted environmental education is needed for this group. Both hunters and non‐hunters, independently of demographic differences including education and income levels, were not familiar with the especially rich biodiversity of the area and would not be willing to invest money to protect it. Our results indicate that targeted education about the unique and rich biodiversity of southern Alabama compared to the rest of the United States is needed to support successful environmental management, conservation actions, and local participation.https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12957behaviorconservationenvironmental educationhuman dimensionshuntingsnakes |
| spellingShingle | Sarah Weber Hertel Jana Stupavsky Kristine Alford Hannah R. Hicks Andrew Heaton Nathan Katlein Brandon T. Hastings Adam Stern Stephanie Jett Andrew Y. Wang Bin Wang Scott Glaberman Ylenia Chiari Dominant attitudes and values toward wildlife and the environment in coastal Alabama Conservation Science and Practice behavior conservation environmental education human dimensions hunting snakes |
| title | Dominant attitudes and values toward wildlife and the environment in coastal Alabama |
| title_full | Dominant attitudes and values toward wildlife and the environment in coastal Alabama |
| title_fullStr | Dominant attitudes and values toward wildlife and the environment in coastal Alabama |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dominant attitudes and values toward wildlife and the environment in coastal Alabama |
| title_short | Dominant attitudes and values toward wildlife and the environment in coastal Alabama |
| title_sort | dominant attitudes and values toward wildlife and the environment in coastal alabama |
| topic | behavior conservation environmental education human dimensions hunting snakes |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12957 |
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