Children's attitudes towards animals are similar across suburban, exurban, and rural areas

PeerJ
Stephanie G SchuttlerRobert R Dunn

Abstract

The decline in the number of hours Americans spend outdoors, exacerbated by urbanization, has affected people's familiarity with local wildlife. This is concerning to conservationists, as people tend to care about and invest in what they know. Children represent the future supporters of conservation, such that their knowledge about and feelings toward wildlife have the potential to influence conservation for many years to come. Yet, little research has been conducted on children's attitudes toward wildlife, particularly across zones of urbanization. We surveyed 2,759 4-8th grade children across 22 suburban, exurban, and rural schools in North Carolina to determine their attitudes toward local, domestic, and exotic animals. We predicted that children who live in rural or exurban areas, where they may have more direct access to more wildlife species, would list more local animals as "liked" and fewer as "scary" compared to children in suburban areas. However, children, regardless of where they lived, provided mostly non-native mammals for open-ended responses, and were more likely to list local animals as scary than as liked. We found urbanization to have little effect on the number of local animals children listed, and the ranki...Continue Reading

References

Apr 2, 2002·Science·Andrew BalmfordJennie Taylor
Dec 22, 2006·Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·Robert R DunnJennifer N Solomon
Jun 9, 2009·Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·Emily MeuserArne Ø Mooers
Feb 1, 1987·Trends in Ecology & Evolution·P Feinsinger
Aug 11, 2011·PloS One·Jean-Marie BallouardXavier Bonnet
Nov 1, 2012·Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·Bret A MuterCharlie Huveneers
Jan 31, 2013·Nature Communications·Scott R LossPeter P Marra
Nov 29, 2013·Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·Michael J FosterEleanor J Sterling
Feb 14, 2014·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Myla F J AronsonMarten Winter
Jul 26, 2014·Science·Rodolfo DirzoBen Collen
Oct 21, 2016·Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·Michael J ManfredoLeeann Sullivan
Oct 27, 2017·Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·Kathryn T StevensonRobert R Dunn

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Feb 23, 2021·ELife·Katie HindeChristopher N Anderson
Jul 31, 2021·The Science of the Total Environment·Jessica C FisherZoe G Davies

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Software Mentioned

R
GoodmanKruskal
Qualtrics
MuMIn
lme4
eMammal

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.

Related Papers

North Carolina Medical Journal
F C HUBBARD
North Carolina Medical Journal
R L Langley
Population Reports. Series M, Special Topics
The Veterinary Record
Steve Cheetham
© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved