What animals live there? Exploring the factors influencing primary school children’s awareness of native and exotic fauna

Abstract

ABSTRACT Education can help combat the current biodiversity crisis, particularly in Western societies where citizens often lack knowledge about biodiversity. This study investigates the factors affecting the low awareness of native species. Primary school students (ages 6–12; n = 960) from northern Spain were shown a photograph from a local temperate forest and another from an exotic African savannah, and were asked to mention what animals they thought might live there. Listings for the exotic biome were overall longer, included more animals correctly belonging to the biome in the picture, and displayed a finer taxonomic resolution level. Children mentioned TV, internet and books as the main sources of information regarding exotic fauna, whereas the most chosen source for local fauna was their families. Both interest in nature and in animals were positively related to greater knowledge about fauna, especially from the exotic biome, which was also linked to students’ educational level. It was also found that the smaller the student’s hometown, the greater their knowledge about local fauna. The implications of the results for the education community as well as for traditional and online media are discussed, and some educational strategies, adjusted to children’s current cultural context, are proposed.