Effectiveness of biodiversity-conservation marketing.

Conservation marketing holds potential as a means to engage audiences with biodiversity conservation and help to address the human dimensions of biodiversity loss. Empirical evaluations of conservation marketing indicatives are growing, so we reviewed the literature on this research to inform future directions in the field. We used a systematic search strategy to identify studies that evaluated the effects of conservation marketing interventions (techniques and campaigns) on psychosocial outcomes, categorized as cognitive, affective, or behavioral. Six academic databases (Business Source Complete, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Greenfile, Proquest, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collections), 3 gray-literature databases (BASE, Zenodo, and Google Scholar), and 2 websites (Rare and WildAid) were searched. Articles were subjected to critical appraisal to assess their methodological quality, and data were extracted from each article and analyzed using narrative synthesis. Altogether 28 studies from 26 articles were included in the review. Twenty-five studies were conducted from 2014 through 2016. Methodological quality of most studies was weak (n = 16, 57%) (moderate quality n = 8, 29%; high quality n = 4, 14%). The proportion of studies that evaluated a conservation-marketing technique (e.g., variants of texts, images, or videos) versus a campaign (e.g., community-based campaigns targeting locally relevant issues, such as unsustainable palm oil agriculture, light pollution, or wood fuel fire use) was relatively balanced. Although many studies reported statistically significant results in the intended direction, the utility of findings was limited by persistent methodological limitations, such as a lack of a comparator group, use of non-validated assessment tools, and a focus on self-reported data and subjective outcomes. Conservation marketing is clearly a nascent field of scientific enquiry that warrants further, high-quality research investigations.

Efectividad de la Mercadotecnia de la Conservación de la Biodiversidad Resumen La mercadotecnia de la conservación tiene potencial como un medio para involucrar a audiencias en la conservación y ayuda a atender la dimensión humana de la pérdida de la biodiversidad. Ha habido un incremento de las evaluaciones empíricas de indicadores de la mercadotecnia de la conservación, por lo que revisamos la literatura sobre esta línea de investigación para dar información a trabajos futuros en este campo. Utilizamos una estrategia de búsqueda sistemática para identificar, evaluar críticamente y sintetizar los resultados de estudios que evaluaron los efectos de las intervenciones de la mercadotecnia de la conservación (técnicas y campañas) sobre las consecuencias psicosociales y relacionadas con el involucramiento, categorizadas como cognitivas, afectivas o conductuales. Realizamos búsquedas en seis bases de datos académicas ((Business Source Complete, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Greenfile, Proquest, Scopus, y Web of Science Core Collections), tres bases de datos de literatura gris (BASE, Zenodo, y Google Scholar) y dos sitios web (Rare y WildAid). Los artículos fueron sujetos a una evaluación crítica para determinar su calidad metodológica, y los datos de cada artículo fueron extraídos y analizados por medio de síntesis narrativa. En total se incluyeron 28 estudios de 26 artículos en la revisión. Veinticinco estudios se llevaron a cabo de 2014 a 2016. La calidad metodológica de la mayoría de los estudios fue baja (n = 16, 57%) (calidad moderada n = 8, 29%; calidad alta n = 4, 14%). La proporción de estudios que evaluaron una técnica de mercadotecnia de la conservación (e. g., variaciones de textos, imágenes o videos) versus una campaña (e. g., campañas comunitarias enfocadas a temas relevantes localmente, como el cultivo no sustentable de palma de aceite, la contaminación lumínica y el uso de madera como combustible) fue relativamente equitativa. Aunque muchos estudios reportaron resultados significativos estadísticamente, la utilidad de los resultados fue limitada por las limitaciones metodológicas persistentes, como la falta de un grupo para comparar, el uso de herramientas de evaluación no validadas y el enfoque en datos auto reportados y resultados subjetivos. La mercadotecnia de la conservación es un campo de conocimiento claramente incipiente que garantiza investigaciones futuras de alta calidad.

Research methods and reporting practices in zoo and aquarium conservation-education evaluation.

Zoos and aquariums are increasingly incorporating conservation education into their mission statements and visitor experiences to address global biodiversity loss. To advance knowledge and practice in the field, research is being conducted to evaluate the effect of zoo conservation-education experiences on visitor psychosocial outcomes (e.g., knowledge, attitude, emotions, motivations, behavior). Following recent discussions among scholars and practitioners concerning logistical and methodological challenges that likely undermine the conclusions of such research, we identified and reviewed the methods and reporting practices in peer-reviewed articles published in English from May 1998 to June 2016 that focused on adult visitor samples (47 articles, 48 studies). We examined elements of internal, external, construct, and statistical conclusion validity. Methodological quality of quantitative methods and reporting practices was determined using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool. Each study was coded as either strong (no weak ratings), moderate (1 weak rating), or weak (≥2 weak ratings). The quantitative methods of 83.3% of studies were weak. The remaining 16.7% had methods of moderate quality. Using an existing checklist, we also assessed the quality and rigor of qualitative methods and reporting practices and found that some aspects of these methods were reported more comprehensively than others. For example, 69.6% of articles discussed methods for identifying key themes from the data, whereas only 34.8% reported how data verification was performed. We suggest increased application of intensive longitudinal methods (e.g., daily diary) to strengthen self-reported data, experimental and repeated-measures designs, and mixed-methods approaches. Our findings and recommendations could strengthen and guide the research and evaluation agenda for the field and ultimately enhance the contribution zoos make to global biodiversity conservation.

An investigation of the impact of Melbourne Zoo's "Seal-the-Loop" donate call-to-action on visitor satisfaction and behavior.

Modern zoos are uniquely positioned to educate the public about environmental issues and promote conservation action. This report investigates the introduction of a donation request during an interactive fur seal presentation (as part of Melbourne Zoo's "Seal-the-Loop" initiative) on visitor satisfaction, perceptions of donation as a way to help wild fur seals, and donation behaviors. Comparisons are made between three groups surveyed upon exit: (1) viewed the interactive fur seal presentation prior to the donation request implementation (pledge-presentation: N = 86; see Mellish, Pearson, Sanders, and Litchfield []; International Zoo Yearbook 129:129-154); (2) viewed the interactive fur seal presentation including the donation request (donate-presentation: N = 82); and (3) viewed the fur seal exhibit and donation point but not the presentation and were not directly asked to make a donation (donate-exhibit: N = 82). Findings demonstrate visitor satisfaction with the interactive fur seal presentation was not negatively impacted following the implementation of the donate request (with >92% of pledge-presentation and donate-presentation visitors providing a "satisfied" or "very satisfied" rating). Only the donate-presentation visitors reported donation as a conservation action to help wild fur seals (19.18%; 0% for pledge-presentation visitors). While both donate-exhibit (39.51%) and donate-presentation visitors (60.75%) self-reported making donations or intending to do so, donation behavior was significantly increased for visitors who had viewed the fur seal presentation. Findings provide preliminary support that zoos may utilize interactive educational presentations to effectively ask visitors for donations to support specific conservation projects, without negatively impacting on satisfaction and with a relatively high level of visitor engagement.

Short-term psychological outcomes of Australia's 2019/20 bushfire season.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated how Australian community members (N = 318) indirectly and/or directly exposed to Australia's 2019/20 bushfire season differed in terms of psychological distress, posttraumatic growth, coping, physical health, and COVID-19 anxiety. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study with a nonequivalent groups design. Participants were over 18 years old, English proficient, and Australian permanent residents or citizens living in Australia at some point between June 2019 and February 2020. Participants completed a 10-minute anonymous online survey 5 to 8 weeks following the bushfires. RESULTS: A descriptive discriminant analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between bushfire exposure groups when considering our dependent variables of interest simultaneously and adjusting for prior mental health assistance and prior exposure to natural disasters: F(10, 624) = 2.83, p = .002; V = .087, partial η² = .043. The group centroid for the indirect-only exposure group (-.374) was substantially lower than that for the other 2 groups (direct only: .137; direct + indirect: .224), indicating that the indirect-only exposure group could be differentiated by the fact that they more frequently reported avoidant coping strategies and endorsed lower posttraumatic growth scores than the direct-only and direct + indirect exposure groups. The variance accounted for by these discriminant variables was 8.4%, indicating a very small effect. CONCLUSION: Our results point to a need to tailor and/or expand disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts such that they might benefit community members both directly and indirectly exposed to bushfire events in Australia. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring the Intersection Between Diet and Self-Identity: A Cross-Sectional Study With Australian Adults.

OBJECTIVE: Diet-related self-identity, which includes components such as individuals' overall dietary pattern and food choice motivations, is a strong predictor of health behaviors. This study sought to assess the variation in dietary patterns reported by a sample of Australian adults and their associations with diet quality. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. PARTICIPANTS: Australian adults (n = 2,010) VARIABLES MEASURED: The main outcome measure was diet quality relative to the Australian Dietary Guidelines, measured by the Healthy Diet Score survey. Other outcomes captured included dietary patterns (eg, unrestricted, vegetarian, flexitarian, or ketogenic diets), diet-related self-identity constructs (centrality, prosocial motivation, personal motivation, and strictness), and sociodemographic characteristics (eg, age, sex, and education level). ANALYSIS: Data were analyzed descriptively, and ordinary least squares regression was performed to identify significant predictors of diet quality. RESULTS: Eighteen unique dietary patterns were reported. These were classified into 3 categories on the basis of the degree of restriction of core food groups. Diets based on restriction of animal protein were associated with the highest diet quality, including the highest consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, whereas restriction of other foods was associated with the poorest diet quality. Unrestricted diets reported the highest consumption of discretionary food (high in saturated fat, salt, or added sugar). Finally, the regression analysis found that diet quality was significantly predicted by dietary pattern and diet-related self-identity constructs (F[8, 1974] = 54.952; P < 0.0001; adjusted R2 = 0.179). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Dietary pattern and diet-related self-identity constructs are key determinants of diet quality. This has implications for future interventions, including that programs and messages could be tailored to ensure they align with the target population's self-identity and overall dietary patterns.

Challenges and successes to the implementation of a zoo conservation-education program.

Zoo conservation-education programs have potential to address biodiversity loss, although evidence of their effectiveness to encourage social change is in its infancy. Moreover, how a program is implemented may influence program efficacy, yet there is little evidence of the factors that shape this process in zoos. Accordingly, through a process evaluation of Zoos Victoria's 'When Balloons Fly" (WBF) conservation-education program against marine debris, we identified barriers and enablers to the implementation of the program which can be addressed to improve future initiatives. Between April-May 2018, 24 Zoos Victoria professionals completed an online survey focussed on identifying challenges and successes in implementing WBF. Four participants additionally completed a follow-up telephone interview. Themes were identified and organised according to the model of diffusion in service organisations (Greenhalgh, Robert, Macfarlane, Bate, & Kyriakidou, 2004). Our results illuminate that features of the organisation (e.g., structure, culture) rather than features of individuals (e.g., skills, motivation) or characteristics of the conservation-education program itself (e.g., messaging), were most influential to implementation success. Based on these findings, attention to the organisational context is critical for promoting and evaluating the success of conservation-education programs and must be given significant attention alongside program characteristics and staff capability to deliver them.

Marine wildlife entanglement: Assessing knowledge, attitudes, and relevant behaviour in the Australian community.

Marine debris remains a global challenge, with significant impacts on wildlife. Despite this, there is a paucity of research examining public understanding about marine wildlife entanglement [MWE], particularly within an Australian context. The present study surveyed two hundred and thirteen participants across three coastal sites to assess familiarity with MWE and the effectiveness of a new community education initiative 'Seal the Loop' [STL]. Results revealed attitudes toward marine wildlife were very positive (M 40.5, SD 4.12); however 32% of participants were unable to correctly explain what MWE is and risks to wildlife were under-estimated. STL may be one method to enhance public understanding and engagement-if community familiarity with the program can be increased. For those aware of STL (<13% of the sample at the time of the study), findings revealed this was having a positive impact (e.g. learning something new, changed waste disposal behaviours).