Local ecological knowledge in the Amazon is as accurate as conventional scientific methods

Local ecological knowledge in the Amazon is as accurate as conventional scientific methods

A study published in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution shows that the local ecological knowledge of populations living in the Amazon is as accurate as conventional scientific methods for estimating the abundance of animal species.

Researchers compared the abundance of 91 wild species (mammals, birds, and turtles) obtained after sampling more than 7,000 kilometers of linear transects and conducting 291 interviews with local people in the LEK in 17 areas along the Amazon. The results showed a high similarity in the estimated abundance between the two methods.

“The local ecological knowledge of populations is more accurate than 10 years of conventional scientific monitoring of animal abundance in the Amazon,” says Franciany Braga-Pereira, one of the authors of the study.

The researchers believe that local ecological knowledge can be a valuable tool for biodiversity conservation in the Amazon. The method is cheaper and faster than conventional scientific methods, and can be used to monitor species that are difficult to observe, such as nocturnal or cryptic species.

In addition, the involvement of local communities in biodiversity monitoring can help promote conservation and sustainable development.

Reference:

Braga-Pereira, F., Morcatty, T. Q., El Bizri, H. R., Tavares, A. S., Mere-Roncal, C., González-Crespo, C., Bertsch, C., Rodriguez, C. R., Bardales-Alvites, C., von Mühlen, E. M., Bernárdez-Rodríguez, G. F., Paim, F. P., Tamayo, J. S., Valsecchi, J., Gonçalves, J., Torres-Oyarce, L., Lemos, L. P., de Mattos Vieira, M. A. R., Bowler, M., … Mayor, P. (2021). Congruence of local ecological knowledge (LEK)-based methods and line-transect surveys in estimating wildlife abundance in tropical forests. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 00, 1– 14. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13773

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