School activity on the theme of bats can raise awareness of conservation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37002/biobrasil.v13i2.2383Keywords:
Flying mammals, chiroptera, human perception, cerradoAbstract
Knowing about the basic ecology of less charismatic species helps strengthen conservation measures. In the present study, we evaluated primary high school students' understanding in the southwest of Goias state, a region of Central Brazil, about bats. This paper involved two phases and analysis before and after school intervention, with lectures and practical activities. In the first phase, we recovered the basic knowledge focused on detecting whether the 170 students recognized bats as flying mammals. Then we tried to find out if they were aware of the hematophagous species estimate, and finally, we evaluated the relationship of the use of bats as bioindicators. The results showed confusion in bats' classification, with association with rodents, birds of nocturnal habit. The students believed that there were more than 10 (ten) hematophagous species regarding these animals' diet. And as expected, the concept of bioindicators of environmental quality was unclear to these animals. Finally, after school intervention, there was a significant increase in understanding all the topics covered on bats. These data reveal the importance of academic intervention in schools to reduce the social distance concerning biodiversity. We conclude that the development of school activity with the theme of bats can increase awareness of conservation.
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