Document of bibliographic reference 354583

BibliographicReference record

Type
Bibliographic resource
Type of document
Journal article
BibLvlCode
AS
Title
The aesthetic value of reef fishes is globally mismatched to their conservation priorities
Abstract
Reef fishes are closely connected to many human populations, yet their contributions to society are mostly considered through their economic and ecological values. Cultural and intrinsic values of reef fishes to the public can be critical drivers of conservation investment and success, but remain challenging to quantify. Aesthetic value represents one of the most immediate and direct means by which human societies engage with biodiversity, and can be evaluated from species to ecosystems. Here, we provide the aesthetic value of 2,417 ray-finned reef fish species by combining intensive evaluation of photographs of fishes by humans with predicted values from machine learning. We identified important biases in species’ aesthetic value relating to evolutionary history, ecological traits, and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threat status. The most beautiful fishes are tightly packed into small parts of both the phylogenetic tree and the ecological trait space. In contrast, the less attractive fishes are the most ecologically and evolutionary distinct species and those recognized as threatened. Our study highlights likely important mismatches between potential public support for conservation and the species most in need of this support. It also provides a pathway for scaling-up our understanding of what are both an important nonmaterial facet of biodiversity and a key component of nature’s contribution to people, which could help better anticipate consequences of species loss and assist in developing appropriate communication strategies.
WebOfScience code
https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000827717700002
Bibliographic citation
Langlois, J.; Guilhaumon, F.; Baletaud, F.; Casajus, N.; De Almeida Braga, C.; Fleuré, V.; Kulbicki, M.; Loiseau, N.; Mouillot, D.; Renoult, J. P.; Stahl, A.; Stuart-Smith, R.D.; Tribot, A.-S.; Mouquet, N. (2022). The aesthetic value of reef fishes is globally mismatched to their conservation priorities. PLoS Biology 20(6): e3001640. https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001640
Topic
Marine
Is peer reviewed
true
Access rights
open access
Is accessible for free
true

Authors

author
Name
Juliette Langlois
author
Name
François Guilhaumon
author
Name
Florian Baletaud
author
Name
Nicolas Casajus
author
Name
Cédric De Almeida Braga
author
Name
Valentine Fleuré
author
Name
Michel Kulbicki
author
Name
Nicolas Loiseau
author
Name
David Mouillot
author
Name
Julien Renoult
author
Name
Aliénor Stahl
author
Name
Rick Stuart-Smith
author
Name
Anne-Sophie Tribot
author
Name
Nicolas Mouquet

Links

referenced creativework
type
DOI
accessURL
https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001640

Document metadata

date created
2022-08-05
date modified
2022-08-08