Fauna and conservation in the context of formal education: a study of urban and rural students in the semi-arid region of Brazil

Abstract

Background: In addition to playing a key role in the dynamics of ecosystems, animal diversity, especially that of wild vertebrates, is intimately linked with human evolutionary history, which has resulted in diverse interactions that must be emphasized in formal education processes. We analyzed several methods of approaches used for biological education in order to teach about wild vertebrates and their conservation in urban and rural schools in the semi-arid region of Brazil. Methods: Data were obtained via questionnaires applied to 990 students, of which 528 were urban and 462 rural, distributed among the seven grades/years that comprise the last two cycles of basic education in Brazil. The richness and diversity of the animals cited by the students were calculated, being the diversity using an adaptation of the equation for the Shannon-Weaver Index (H′). Data were analyzed using non-parametric descriptive statistics. Results: Mammals and birds had the greatest richness and diversity of animals cited as most-studied in science/biology classes, and also the most indicated as occurring in the studied region. Among mammals, large carnivores with a showy appearance and utilitarian value had the highest citation frequencies, while there was a tendency for limited recognition of faunistic diversity in the other groups mentioned. Almost 70% of the students stated that their schooling processes dealt with the conservation of wild animals; however, about 50% of the students in both urban and rural contexts did not express conceptual understanding about the conservation of nature. Conclusions: The recognition of animal diversity, especially vertebrates, beyond just mammals and birds, as well as conceptual clarity about the conservation of nature, are fundamental factors for the development of critical awareness of fauna and its conservation, and where the processes of schooling have a preponderant role. Finally, the study contributes to the legitimization of Ethnobiology as an interdisciplinary field of knowledge, especially in its interface with education, in addition to pointing out the importance of optimizing efforts in approaches to biodiversity conservation in formal educational processes.

Promoção De Vigor E Germinação Em Sementes Da Caatinga Pela Utilização De Técnicas De Priming

“…Sementes provenientes de populações da Caatinga, como exemplo, foram ainda pouco estudadas quanto a utilização de tecnologias para a melhoria da qualidade de vigor e germinação (DANTAS et al, 2020;OLIVEIRA et al, 2020). Meiado et al (2012) descrevem também a necessidade de pesquisas com sementes da Caatinga.…”

“…Ainda sobre os efeitos do Hydropriming, descritos nos resultados apresentados nas Tabelas 1 -3, provavelmente, nas condições deste trabalho, pode ser referido que de maneira geral houve um ganho de germinação e vigor em relação ao outro tratamento, melhor descrito a seguir, porém, na maioria dos ensaios descritos nesta pesquisa houve uma considerável diminuição da germinação e vigor das sementes em relação a literatura citada na discussão. Nesse ponto, é necessário ser descrito que no bioma Caatinga a diversidade de populações de uma mesma espécie é considerável e as condições ambientais também implicam na formação e qualidade das (MESQUITA et al, BIOFIX Scientific Journal v. 7 n. 1 p. 37-45 2022Ferreira, T. C. et al Página| 43 2018DANTAS et al, 2019;DANTAS et al, 2020;OLIVEIRA et al, 2020), estas divergências quanto ao uso da técnica de Hydropriming poderiam ser sanadas se uma experimentação com sementes provenientes de populações e épocas de colheita diferentes fossem testadas.…”

Ultrasound for Overcoming Dormancy of Fabaceae Seeds From Brazilian Dry Seasonal Forest

“…Caatinga biome (Brazilian Dry Seasonal Forest) is a unique landscape and vegetation formation in Brazil (DANTAS et al, 2019;OLIVEIRA et al, 2020), peculiar Without its competence factors (LIMA & MEIADO, 2018) to the biotic and abiotic factors in effect mainly (NASCIMENTO et al, 2018). This location presents xerophilous, endemic plants, accentuated climatic seasonality, high biodiversity and large population inserted in this location (OLIVEIRA et al, 2020).…”

“…The Caatinga seeds are an object of study that is still undervalued, several characteristics are still poorly understood about this vegetation formation (MESQUITA et al, 2018;DANTAS et al, 2019). The production of knowledge about the Caatinga environment, respecting its plants, can be a way to improve management in sustainable terms (DANTAS et al, 2019;OLIVEIRA et al, 2020). The anthropogenic action factor in this biome is high and such haste has required areas to be reforested or areas for commercial management to be produced.…”

Students’ Interests in Biodiversity: Links with Health and Sustainability

“…It was established that subscribing nations should provide and maintain educational programs to encourage and promote understanding of the importance of biodiversity conservation and its sustainable use [11]. Educational proposals on biodiversity claim to be important to expand student knowledge about organism diversity, considering that schools can play a crucial role in this learning [28][29][30].…”