ASSESSING URBAN GREENSPACES TO PROMOTE BIRDWATCHING ACTIVITIES

• Grant number: 23/04840-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2023
• End date: August 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering - Nature Conservation
• Principal Investigator: Katia Maria Paschoaletto Micchi de Barros Ferraz
• Grantee: Taynara Cristine Bessi
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Birdwatching is a growing segment of ecotourism in Brazil, which usually happens in natural areas and may take place in urban green spaces with high biodiversity. Thus, enhancing observation in these areas can contribute to human health and well-being and improve human-wildlife interaction. However, each group of birdwatchers can value different aspects, which, even today, makes planning an urban space for birdwatching quite challenging. Therefore, this project aims to develop an index which will investigate the potential of urban greenspaces to birdwatching. The project is going to happen in four college campuses in São Paulo's state (UNESP Rio Claro, UNICAMP, ESALQ/USP and USP São Paulo). This project will follow four phases: (1) Acquiring bird's lists that occur in each location and identify birds traits that are most attractive to different groups of birdwatchers (beginners, intermediaries and experienced); (2) Define each bird traits value following every birder proclivity; (3) Establish an attractiveness score of each college campus according to the bird traits values tested in phase 2; (4) Authenticate the results obtained in phases two and three by making an application for Brazilian birders. With the results of this project, we aim to identify how much each bird species can wield attraction for different types of Brazilian birders in urban green spaces. Those results will contribute with knowledge for planning birdwatching tourism in locations outside protected natural areas.