Do academic students overestimate marine litter pollution? A threat analysis using plover birds as a target in a Mediterranean site

What is it about?

In this work we wanted to verify if marine litter was overestimated as threat by academic students when compared to other threats acting on a specific conservation target, a coastal bird of conservation concern, breeding on Mediterranean coastal dunes (Kentish Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus). To test this hypothesis, before any direct local survey (a-priori), a panel of academic students collected indirect information on a set of threats impacting on the target, assigning scores based the judgement only on general information communicated by park operators. After a field survey on the plover’s breeding site, students newly assigned a-posteriori scores (‘after’ phase). The before-after comparison showed that no threat showed a significant difference in scores, except for marine litter, which was significantly a-priori overestimated. Although the marine litter is known to pose a threat to plover birds, it has been significantly overestimated at the local level suggesting a pre-judice in student evaluation. This biased overestimation could be due to the high media exposure of the marine litter as a threat, making it charismatic, therefore affecting the a-priori judgment.

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