Human perception of the conservation and biodiversity state of forest remnants under different levels of urbanization

Abstract

Human perception of local environmental biodiversity and conservation may provide another dimension to understanding the ecology of urban ecosystems. This perception can vary according to the environmental urbanization level and may contribute towards its conservation. We investigated the relationship between the human perception of the conservation and state of animal richness in urban remnants and level of landscape urbanization, and between the human perception of animal richness and the remnants’ area. In addition, we tested the effectiveness of interviews as the means for evaluating animal richness. The subjects' perception of the conservation of remnants did not correlate with the level of urbanization. Richness was reported as high and varied with the remnant’s area - indicating maintenance of a possible species-area relationship in the studied landscape - but did not correlate with the level of urbanization. Urbanization can standardize the popular knowledge about conservation. Interviews with local residents proved to bring efficient insights into urban animal richness, especially for primates, and can be supplemented by camera-trapping. Human perception, obtained through interviews, is relevant and useful for the description of ecological aspects of urban regions and supports environmental awareness, actions, research projects, and management for conservation purposes.