Doctoral Dissertation Research: Using Prospect Theory and Human Perceptions of Wildlife to Predict Support for Invasive Species Management.

University Of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA

Investigators

Abstract

Many environmental issues are highly politicized. Invasive species impacts are an example of an environmental problem that has not become politicized. Invasive species are also one of the most important drivers of declines in global biodiversity, estimated to cost $120 billion annually in management and mitigation costs in the US, making this a salient and important issue for land and wildlife managers. Invasive species management can be particularly difficult because the public perception of risks associated with management can influence the success or failure of that action. Despite this, little is known about how to frame the management of invasive species in a way that facilitates public support. Prospect theory suggests that the public will respond more strongly to frames that communicate losses than gains. Because invasive species policy is as yet not politicized, it provides a useful test of prospect theory in the environmental arena where costs are often concentrated and benefits. By testing prospect theory across a range of species, this research can evaluate how individuals perceive risk and salience of species identity in determining the perceived need for management. This response to messaging frames may be further modulated by the perception of a species, which can, in turn, influence the success or failure of the implementation of management strategies. By accounting for species identity in our analysis of messaging frames, we can identify how species identity interacts with messaging frames to shape policy outcomes. This project helps to unite the fields of social ecology and public policy by providing novel research to understand the role of framing in the public's perception of risk associated with environmental management. We expect that mammals and other "cute" species will reduce support for management, making messaging frames more relevant to support outcomes. In contrast, we expect that messaging frames related to species that are traditionally thought of as undesirable (e.g. reptiles or amphibians) will be less relevant in determining public support. Broadly, this project can inform managers about how to frame and message about invasive species to increase public support for management. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.