RESEARCH PROJECTS
Recreational value of campsites in Negev desert (Israel) and their impacts on biodiversity.
Recreational activities are posing an increasing pressure on sites that are designated for conservation. Despite large research effort on recreation ecology, little is still known on the impacts of recreational activities in the desert ecosystem, and in particular, camping activities. We conducted ecological (birds, rodents, scorpions and plants) and psychological (surveys of campsites users and nationwide choice experiment) surveys to explore how to balance recreational and conservation values of the protected areas. This project is conducted with Gal Geisler (MSc) and Dr Assaf Shwartz, and funded by the Israel Nature and Park Authority.
Unpacking the causes and consequences of the extinction of experience
Urbanization and urban lifestyles are increasingly disconnecting people from nature, in a process that was called the 'extinction of experience' (EoE). Nature experiences provide a wide range of health and well-being benefits, and foster affinity towards and care for the natural world. The EoE therefore represents a key contemporary issue, and despite increasing research effort, understanding of this deleterious phenomenon remains poor. We conducted (1) a large scale survey to empirically test for the first time the framework of the EoE and unpack the network of relationships driving the EoE; (2) a virtual reality experiment in which we empirically measured the effect of a loss of nature experiences on well-being, and how urban design can help restore these well-being benefits. This project is conducted with Ronit Cohen, Avishag Shemesh and Dr Assaf Shwartz, and is funded by the German Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development.
Second manuscript (VR experiment) in preparation
Promoting meaningful and positive nature interactions for visitors to green spaces
Human activities are the main driver of the biodiversity crisis, and solutions largely depend on changing the way people value and interact with the natural world. Averting the extinction of experience can help restore health and well-being benefits retrieved from nature experiences, and increase affinity towards nature and commitment to protect biodiversity. Promoting meaningful interactions with nature is therefore vital for both individuals and biodiversity. We conducted a large scale field survey to understand the relationship between affinity towards nature, nature interactions and positive affect; we then conducted a controlled experiment in which we reduced psychological distance from nature with 'cues to experience', enhanced the quality of nature interactions and increased positive affect of participants.
Addressing behavior in pollinator conservation policies to combat the implementation gap
Solutions for conserving biodiversity lie in changing people's behavior. Ambitious international and national conservation policies frequently fail in effective implementation to mitigate biodiversity loss, as they rarely use behavior change theories. We conducted a gap analysis of conservation behavior change interventions advocated in national conservation strategies using the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW). We analyze and categorize the conservation actions listed in national pollinator initiatives against the intervention functions and policy categories of the BCW. We find that these initiatives failed to employ the whole breadth of behavioral interventions. Interventions most frequently identified were education (23%) and environmental restructuring (19%). Whereas, coercion was completely absent, and other behavioral interventions such as restriction (2%) or incentivization (3%) under-used. Importantly, 41% of all pollinator conservation actions failed to identify the intervention target. We discuss reasons for the implementation gaps of conservation policies, and provide recommendations how to underpin effective future conservation policy goals with behavior change interventions.
Credit photo: Agathe Colleony
When the winners are the losers: Invasive alien bird species outcompete the native winners in the biotic homogenization process
Species are declining worldwide, but while some are becoming threatened, few others thrive under novel environmental conditions. Land use changes and biological invasion are the main drivers of this ‘biotic homogenization’ (BH) that increasingly occurs in human-dominated landscapes. We analyzed trends of common native and non-native birds during the last 15 years across Israel, where large populations of very destructive invasive alien bird species were introduced towards the end of the previous century, using a nation-wide citizen-science program, and two local standardized surveys. Community and population analyses showed that the non-native species are the primary ‘winners’ of the BH process. Native urban specialists and generalist species that were previously considered as ‘winners’ are now among the ‘losers’.
Simply going out more often is not enough to promote environmental attitudes
Urbanization threatens biodiversity and people’s opportunities to interact with nature. This progressive disconnection from the natural world is profoundly concerning as it affects human health, wellbeing, attitudes and behaviors towards nature. Increasing the quantity of experiences of nature (EoN) can enhance health and wellbeing benefits, but it remains unclear whether it can also affect environmental attitudes across different countries. We conducted a cross-cultural survey among 741 people from France, Israel and the UK, who either own a dog (and thus prone to go outdoors to walk their dog), a cat, or no pet. This setting was used as a quasi-experiment to explore the relationships between EoN, nature relatedness, environmental knowledge and attitudes. Our results confirmed that dog-owners have a higher quantity of EoN. However, we found that although dog-ownership was associated with people’s relatedness to nature, the increased quantity of EoN did not correlate with environmental knowledge or attitudes. Thus, increasing the quantity of EoN may not be sufficient for mitigating the effects of the extinction of experience and consequently a more profound understanding of the quality of EoN and the means to enhance it are needed.
Evaluation of the role of zoos in reconnecting individuals with nature and conservation issues
Urbanization and urban lifestyles are increasingly alienating people from nature, posing a great challenge for biodiversity conservation, as collective ignorance leads to collective indifference. Zoos constitute (urban) green spaces and are visited by millions of individuals every year, from very different backgrounds. The zoo visit allows individuals to encounter and get close to wild animals and has a strong emotional component, enabling sense of being away and fascination for visitors. Most zoos spend large efforts in conservation education and research. During the three years of my PhD, I explored how zoos could potentially help reconnect individuals with nature and biodiversity conservation issues. I conducted interviews and questionnaire surveys, face to face and online. I explored how the zoo visit constitutes an experience of nature for some individuals and how it can help promote conservation attitudes and behaviors.
PhD thesis
Human preferences for species conservation: Animal charisma trumps endangered status
A good deal of research has recently focused on people's commitment to biodiversity conservation by investigating their “willingness-to-pay” (WTP). Because of the public's self-reported preferences for species that are more charismatic or similar to humans, conservation programs are often biased toward these species. Our study aimed to explore the determinants of WTP among 10066 participants in a zoo conservation program. The program aims to raise money to support conservation programs and involves donating a sum of money to “adopt” an animal in the zoo.We explored whether participants were influenced by particular scientific characteristics of the animal (IUCN conservation status and phylogenetic distance from humans) or by more affect-related characteristics, such as the charisma of the animal. We found that participants did not choose an animal to adopt because of the endangered status of the species, and did not donate more to endangered species than to other species. Instead, they were more likely to choose a charismatic species. However, surprisingly, those who chose a less charismatic species gave more money on average to the program than those who adopted more charismatic species, suggesting a higher level of commitment among the former.
What kind of landscape management can counteract the extinction of experience?
The combined effects of urbanization, biodiversity loss and the Western way of life reduce the opportunities to experience nature. Landscape management could play a prominent role in providing opportunities and motivation for people to be in nature. It is important, therefore, to understand which kinds of nature people mostly prefer and use. Based on complementary questionnaire surveys obtained from 4639 French adults, we studied the habits of nature uses, in relation to personal previous experiences and nature connectedness. We explored the type and frequency of natural areas people visit most often, the place where they grew up, and the extent to which they feel interdependent with the natural environment. In an innovative process, we assessed the extent to which respondents mentioned a personal place (e.g., my garden), a specific non-personal place (e.g. a particular forest) or remained general (e.g. forests). Among a wide range of cited natural areas, five types predominated, consistently for all samples surveyed. Interestingly, connectedness with nature was negatively related to mentions of place specificity, but positively related to frequency of visits of natural areas.
Exoticism as a mediator of everyday experiences of nature: an anthropological exploration of soundscape in zoos
The increasing levels of stress entailed by contemporary urban lifestyles can lead to a greater desire to escape from cities. The restorative sense of ‘being away’ produced by natural environments has been substantially explored in greenspaces but little studied in zoos, which endeavour to immerse visitors in a local or exotic environment through both the visual environment and soundscape. We explore how soundscapes contribute to this sense of immersion through self-reflective interviews with 20 participants in two zoos in Paris (France). The zoo was perceived as a natural or a socially crowded area depending on the auditory context. Interestingly, focusing on the captive exotic animals seemed to make participants more aware of the more common birds around them in the zoo. By highlighting both, zoos could potentially increase awareness and care for urban biodiversity.
Fragmentation of the tropical rainforest and mammal species richness
This project aimed at studying the effect of the fragmentation of the tropical rainforest on mammal species richness, in Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico. We conducted line-transect censuses (diurnal and nocturnal surveys) and camera-trapping method in four different sites : a well protected site, Palenque National Park, and three forest fragments which have been isolated from the national park years ago, and enjoying different levels of protection. We found that the species richness varies across the different sites, with a lower species richness in the forest fragments compared to the national park. Besides, we found an effect of isolation, through distance of the fragment to the national park, with a decrease of the abundance of some species, and, interestingly, the increase of the abundance of others. Therefore, some species seem to be more vulnerable than other to habitat fragmentation and loss. Moreover, it appears that species diversity decreases where forests are less protected. This project was conducted with Dr Alejandro Estrada.
Rehabilitation of howler and spider monkey infants rescued from the illegal pet trade
As a side project, when I was looking at the effect of the fragmentation of the rainforest on mammal species richness in Mexico, I help with the daily care of howler and spider monkey infants, as well as other animals, rescued from the illegal pet trade.
Effect of social context on cooperative behaviours in humans
Although cooperation has widely been studied across different-sized cities, little is known about within-city differences. Indeed, it has been proposed that socioeconomic status has an effect on social capital, a variable known as a mediator of cooperative behaviours. However, researchers are not consistent on whether or not deprived neighbourhoods have higher levels. Therefore, this study compares two socioeconomically opposed neighbourhoods within the same city. To do so, a social capital self-report survey, an economic game, and naturalistic observations were conducted on each neighbourhood. We found relatively low levels of social capital in the deprived neighbourhood, associated with small amounts of money allocated to other, and higher levels of crimes. Additionally, more help has been observed in the affluent area for two experiments. However, contrary to these results, we found that lower class people are more likely to be in groups in the streets than their upper class counterparts. Consequently, we confirm here that social context strongly mediates social capital and cooperative behaviours.
