Scientific Dissemination in comics for conservations of the Alagoas curassow (Pauxi mitu) at the Pernambuco Centre of Endemism

• Grant number: 21/11931-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2022
• End date: December 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education
• Principal Investigator: Hylio Laganá Fernandes
• Grantee: Aleska Caroline Vieira
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Humanas e Biológicas (CCHB). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Sorocaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/23548-2 - Evaluation, recovering and conservation of endangered animal species from the Pernambuco Centre of Endemism, AP.TEM

Abstract

The Brazil Northeastern Atlantic Forest had a history of human occupation that led to an alarming environmental decline and fragmentation. Among the known endemic species in the region, the Alagoas curassow (Pauxi mitu), extinct in the wild since the 1980s and reintroduced in 2019, in a pioneering event in the Americas, deserves special mention. The reintroduction of the species, and data on its biology, constitutes one of the research proposals of the thematic project ARCA do CEP, which aims to investigate what remains of the fauna of this biome. As one of the strategies for Scientific Dissemination (SD) of the project, comics will be produced, in strip format, with Pauxi mitu as the main character. The strips will be posted weekly on the project's Instagram account. The comic series will focus on the history of P. mitu, which operates as a flagship species, and throughout the narratives will present the results generated within the scope of ARCA do CEP project, with both SD and environmental conservation objectives. This Initiation project aims to verify to what extent constituent elements of the comic strips (structure, content, narrative, art) interfere in the impact of the posted material, measured through the interactions of the Instagram platform (likes, views, shares, comments), looking for correlations of dependence on the variables addressed. These results can offer valuable clues for the production of SD material in comics, as they can unveil elements that favor the interest and/or interaction with the audience.(AU)