Biosecurity messages are lost in translation to citizens: Implications for devolving management to citizens

Understanding and improving biosecurity among recreational anglers in Great Britain

Recreational fishing with the principal motivation of leisure is associated with important economic, social and conservation values. Nonetheless, it is also a primary pathway for the introduction and spread of invasive non-native species and aquatic animal disease. Several studies have explored the overall biosecurity risk posed by recreational anglers based on self-reported behaviours and the awareness of biosecurity campaigns. Nonetheless, there has been little in-depth exploration of the characteristics of key stakeholders who are implementing biosecurity best practices and the barriers that prevent anglers from undertaking biosecurity measures in the field. This study addresses this knowledge gap using an online questionnaire to collect information on angler socio-demographic characteristics, voluntary biosecurity behaviour and barriers affecting the implementation of biosecurity best practices in Great Britain. The results indicated that cleaning behaviours vary considerably among anglers, with angling frequency and the number of pieces of equipment affecting how likely anglers were to clean and dry these items. High levels of disinfectant use were reported among anglers, potentially attributed to the concurrent advocation of disinfectant to prevent the spread of aquatic animal disease. Barriers affecting the implementation of correct cleaning behaviours included a combination of factors, such as practicality, disability, lack of available information and individual values. These findings illustrate the importance for fishery managers, water companies and policymakers to tailor prevention measures and facilities for anglers to maximise the practicality of biosecurity measures and encourage long-term implementation of best practices.

Public's perceptions of marine bioinvasive risks and responsible parties - Implications for social acceptability and better-informed communication in the marine biosecurity context

Using the survey data on a representative sample of the New Zealand population, our study presents a process of understanding citizens' perceptions, identifying patterns in the perceptions, and recognising the knowledge gaps existing in the citizenry in the marine biosecurity context. While our findings show a healthy sign of the public accepting their own responsibility and the devolved responsibility of business/industry, there are considerable gaps between the general public's perceptions and (marine) biosecurity current practices and expectations. There is a moderately strong signal from survey respondents that suggest the need of significantly more effort and improved transparency in marine biosecurity communication. Our outcomes indicate an anthropocentric tendency, with influences of gender, age, education, income, frequency of beach visitation upon societal perceptions in terms of awareness, concern, perceived non-indigenous marine species impacts, and accountability in marine biosecurity management. The recognised socio-demographic patterns in societal perceptions would inform marine biosecurity communication strategies.

What’s that bug? Community participation in biosecurity in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand

Biosecurity is essential to protect against the negative effects of non-native invasive species. As part of the government’s ‘Biosecurity 2025’ Initiative to enlist all New Zealanders as biosecurity risk managers, Tauranga Moana has been named the ‘biosecurity capital’ of New Zealand. The initiative will involve large-scale citizen science, for reporting and management of pest and disease threats. In this context we measured baseline awareness, perceptions and behaviour around biosecurity among two key groups of respondents, the local community at Mount Maunganui (surrounding Tauranga’s port) and school children. An online survey was completed by 324 members of the local community, while 120 school children completed a survey about their biosecurity knowledge and behaviours after using a biosecurity education kit. Results indicate that while both groups report a relatively high level of understanding about the concept of biosecurity, and acknowledge it as extremely important, knowledge of current pest threats and correct biosecurity behaviours could be improved. Mount Maunganui community members rate their understanding of biosecurity as better than the average New Zealander, but are less likely to have taken regular biosecurity action in the past year. For school children, improved biosecurity efforts could be evidenced by more active pest monitoring, and greater discussion about biosecurity outside of school (e.g. with their family at home). Key enablers for achieving more impactful citizen science for biosecurity among these groups are targeted education, and practical advice about what they can do to help.

Perceptions and risk behaviors regarding biological invasions in inland aquatic ecosystems

Public engagement is vital to effectively manage Invasive Alien Species (IAS) and biosecurity campaigns directed to stakeholders are decisive to raise awareness regarding IAS regulations and problems. To design and implement adequate communication plans, stakeholders' perceptions and risk behaviors regarding IAS need to be monitored by surveys. IAS do not recognize borders and most countries are not biogeographically isolated. Therefore, international information and consensus are necessary when applying measures at a biogeographic scale. Our bilingual survey was performed at the Iberian Peninsula, targeting the general public, decision-makers and other stakeholders, covering all taxa associated to inland aquatic ecosystems. We found differences in IAS' awareness between countries, and between different stakeholder groups. Results showed that the awareness of socioeconomic and human health impacts is substantially lower when compared with impacts on biodiversity. We found that the perception regarding the predation impacts is consistent across groups and countries, while other perceptions differ. The negative socioeconomic impact on angling due to IAS introductions is widely recognized. However, angling is also the activity most referred as positively impacted by IAS due to fish introductions. Most responders knew what IAS are, providing correct species examples. For all three awareness types (Biodiversity, Socio-economic and Human health) the model regressions showed that the most important predictor was the country of provenance of the respondent, followed by Education level for the socio-economic and biodiversity regressions and the stakeholder group in the Human health regression. We can conclude that in Portugal and Spain the general public and other key target-groups have reduced understanding of some threats posed by IAS. We highlight that raising awareness about IAS impacts on humans, namely on socio-economic aspects and human health, may be more effective and it is certainly needed in education campaigns towards IAS.

The role of citizen science in management of invasive avian species: What people think, know, and do

In North America, nest site competition from invasive cavity-nesting birds can limit the opportunities for successful nesting by native birds. Managing invasive species is costly and complex, requiring input from biologists, decision makers, and the public. An informed and engaged public can play an important role in mitigating the negative effects of invasive avian species. However, little is known regarding the publics' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward non-native bird species. We examined the association between participating in a citizen science project and enjoyment, knowledge, and management of two non-native avian species in North America: European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and house sparrows (Passer domesticus). We administered a pre and post survey to 947 people who monitor nest boxes in the United States and Canada, 30% of whom were also reporting their observations to NestWatch, a citizen science project focused on nesting birds. We found that NestWatch participants were more likely to have negative views of non-native species, score higher on bird identification tasks, and manage for invasive species than non-participants. The most important predictor for undertaking management activities was respondents' perceptions of whether they believed non-native birds to be a problem at the continental scale, underscoring the important role of individual factors such as perception. Our study also highlights the important role citizen science may play in shaping attitudes and behaviors and increasing knowledge. We propose a conceptual model describing the mechanisms by which citizen science can be leveraged for management of invasive species.

Is recreational boating a potential vector for non-indigenous peracarid crustaceans in the Mediterranean Sea? A combined biological and social approach

Shipping is understood to be a major vector for the introduction and spread of marine non-indigenous species (NIS). However, recreational boating is still unregulated and its influence as vector has not yet been assessed for the Mediterranean Sea, which is the second most popular recreational boating destination worldwide. This is the first large-scale study to examine this by a combined biological (analyzing hull and marina fouling) and social approach (boaters surveys on maintenance habits, travel patterns and awareness), focused on peracarid crustaceans. A surprisingly high number of NIS were found on vessels cruising Mediterranean waters, and species compositions suggest an exchange between marina and vessel assemblages. This means recreational boating presents a risk for NIS spread which should warrant regulation. Results also implied that regionally coordinated management should be supported by effective local-scale-based management in the Mediterranean, which could improve upon with targeted environmental education to solve lack of awareness.