Data from: Shifting baselines on a tropical forest frontier: extirpations drive declines in local ecological knowledge

The value of local ecological knowledge (LEK) to conservation is
increasingly recognised, but LEK is being rapidly lost as indigenous
livelihoods change. Biodiversity loss is also a driver of the loss of LEK,
but quantitative study is lacking. In our study landscape in SW China, a
large proportion of species have been extirpated. Hence, we were
interested to understand whether species extirpation might have led to an
erosion of LEK and the implications this might have for conservation. So
we investigated peoples' ability to name a selection of birds and
mammals in their local language from pictures. Age was correlated to
frequency of forest visits as a teenager and is likely to be closely
correlated to other known drivers of the loss of LEK, such as declining
forest dependence. We found men were better at identifying birds overall
and that older people were better able to identify birds to the species as
compared to group levels (approximately equivalent to genus). The effect
of age was also stronger among women. However, after controlling for these
factors, species abundance was by far the most important parameter in
determining peoples' ability to name birds. People were unable to
name any locally extirpated birds at the species level. However, contrary
to expectations, people were better able to identify extirpated mammals at
the species level than extant ones. However, extirpated mammals tend to be
more charismatic species and several respondents indicated they were only
familiar with them through TV documentaries. Younger people today cannot
experience the sights and sounds of forest animals that their parents grew
up with and, consequently, knowledge of these species is passing from
cultural memory. We suggest that engaging older members of the community
and linking the preservation of LEK to biodiversity conservation may help
generate support for conservation.