Ana Picanço - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Ana Picanço
PLOS ONE
Direct contact with nature is paramount in deepening children’s and teenagers’ interest in biodiv... more Direct contact with nature is paramount in deepening children’s and teenagers’ interest in biodiversity. Learning materials chosen to convey information and engage participants during outings in nature-rich environments are varied and can support rich learning experiences. For this purpose, learning materials can be acquired "off-the-shelf" or developed for site-specific locations or projects. However, there is little guidance on potential techniques for those wishing to generate contextually relevant materials. With the view of responding to this challenge, we propose the cultural probes technique. We demonstrate that the technique, commonly used in qualitative research to generate novel insights in conversation with participants, can instigate innovative and thoughtful approaches to materials designed for children and teenagers to explore nature. We present a toolkit that draws on the literature on cultural probes, inquiry-based learning, and the value of sensory, emotio...
Environmental Conservation
SummaryBiodiversity loss is a complex issue and a risk that education cannot overlook. Teachers p... more SummaryBiodiversity loss is a complex issue and a risk that education cannot overlook. Teachers play a crucial role in how biodiversity, and in particular local biodiversity, is understood. To provide insight into how to improve communication on the subject, we investigate teachers’ perspectives and social representations regarding biodiversity, their fluency in terms of Internet use, their familiarity with biodiversity web portals and perceived pedagogical usefulness of technology. A sample of 243 K–12 schoolteachers of multiple scientific domains from eight Azorean islands answered an online survey, including three free-word association tests using inductive terms such as ‘Internet’, ‘biodiversity’ and ‘familiar biodiversity portals’. Overall, the schoolteachers failed to incorporate the multidimensionality of the biodiversity concept (including natural science teachers) or to show technological fluency, and they tended not to use biodiversity web portals as tools to engage studen...
Conservation studies usually assess the effectiveness of protected areas and draft proposals on t... more Conservation studies usually assess the effectiveness of protected areas and draft proposals on the inclusion of new areas to gain legal protection status, paying little attention to the unprotected surrounding matrix of the respective protected areas network. By combining species distribution modeling and a site selection method, we aim to quantify the contribution of different land uses to insect pollinator conservation on a small oceanic island i.e. Terceira Island (Azores, Portugal). Our results showed that, in addition to well preserved and protected native forest in Terceira, other land uses, such as naturalized vegetation areas, exotic forests, and semi-natural pastures, could serve as a continuum for the protected areas network. This result suggests that protecting marginal non-natural areas may also be important, especially when areas with wellpreserved natural habitats are scarce. This spatial planning approach can be easily applied to other islands in the archipelago and ...
We report 18 species of wild bees plus the domesticated honeybee from the Azores, which adds nine... more We report 18 species of wild bees plus the domesticated honeybee from the Azores, which adds nine species to earlier lists. One species, Hylaeus azorae, seems to be a single island endemic, and three species are possibly native (Colletes eous, Halictus villosulus, and Hylaeus pictipes). All the remaining bee species are most likely accidental introductions that arrived after human colonization of the archipelago in the 15th century. Bee diversity in the Azores is similar to bee diversity of Madeira and Cape Verde but nearly ten times lower than it is in the Canary Islands.
This multi-voice script highlights the process of five years of research with coastal fishing com... more This multi-voice script highlights the process of five years of research with coastal fishing communities in the Azores islands o f P rtugal. Initially, we used photo elicitation and focus groups to invite people to sp eak about the sea and all the deep, complex and sometimes contradictory meanings that it may ha ve. In later years, the researchers sought environmental justice within everyday processes, us ing deep ethnographic and autobiographicnarrative inquiry which led to participation in lea rning about – as well as supporting – collaborations between fishers, scientists and poli cy makers. The text is constructed via artsinformed research methodology and consists of two p arallel, creative narratives, intermittently interrupted by a visual narrative. This work calls for looking at the sea through new eyes, hearing with new ears, feeling differently and awak ening to the possibility of knowing the sea in unfamiliar ways.
Here we present Field Guide, a mobile application (app) designed to connect communities to nature... more Here we present Field Guide, a mobile application (app) designed to connect communities to nature-rich environments, which play a crucial role in nature conservation efforts. The app aligns to a mode of science communication that seeks to establish direct contact between publics and specialised scientific communities, most commonly known as the 'ask a scientist' approach. Field Guide uses a geolocation positioning system to offer users the opportunity to pose questions to scientists whilst exploring a nature conservation site. In this demo, we display the app as a mock-up presentation before its first use by children and teenagers during a field-trip to a nature trail later in 2021.
One Ecosystem
This paper analyses and compares a set of case studies on ecosystem services (ES) mapping and ass... more This paper analyses and compares a set of case studies on ecosystem services (ES) mapping and assessment with the purpose of formulating lessons learned and recommendations. Fourteen case studies were selected during the EU Horizon 2020 “Coordination and Support Action” ESMERALDA to represent different policy- and decision-making processes throughout the European Union, across a wide range of themes, biomes and scales. The analysis is based on a framework that addresses the key steps of an ES mapping and assessment process, namely policy questions, stakeholder identification and involvement, application of mapping and assessment methods, dissemination and communication and implementation. The analysis revealed that most case studies were policy-orientated or gave explicit suggestions for policy implementation in different contexts, including urban, rural and natural areas. Amongst the findings, the importance of starting stakeholder engagement early in the process was confirmed in o...
Nature Conservation
Insect pollinators provide vital ecosystem services through its maintenance of plant biological d... more Insect pollinators provide vital ecosystem services through its maintenance of plant biological diversity and its role in food production. Indeed, adequate pollination services can increase the production and quality of fruit and vegetable crops. This service is currently challenged by land use intensification and expanding human population growth. Hence, this study aims: (1) to assess the pollination services in different land uses with different levels of disturbance through GIS mapping technique using insect pollinators abundance and richness as indicators, and (2) estimate the economic value of pollination by insects in agricultural crops. Our study takes place in a small oceanic island, Terceira (Azores, Portugal). Our results showed, remarkably, that not only the pristine vegetation areas, but also the orchards and agricultural areas have relatively high values of pollination services, even though both land uses have opposite disturbance levels. For the economic valuation, we analyzed 24 crops in the island and found that 18 depend on pollinators with one-third of these crops having 65% or 95% dependence on pollinators. The economic contribution of pollinators totals 36.2% of the total mean annual agricultural income of the dependent crops, highlighting the importance of insect pollinators in agricultural production and consequent economic gain productions.
ZooKeys, 2017
We report 18 species of wild bees plus the domesticated honeybee from the Azores, which adds nine... more We report 18 species of wild bees plus the domesticated honeybee from the Azores, which adds nine species to earlier lists. One species, Hylaeus azorae, seems to be a single island endemic, and three species are possibly native (Colletes eous, Halictus villosulus, and Hylaeus pictipes). All the remaining bee species are most likely accidental introductions that arrived after human colonization of the archipelago in the 15 th century. Bee diversity in the Azores is similar to bee diversity of Madeira and Cape Verde but nearly ten times lower than it is in the Canary Islands.
A classic example of an ecosystem service is pollination, with an important economic value. It ha... more A classic example of an ecosystem service is pollination, with an important economic value. It has been postulated that endemic super generalists are the key pollinators on islands. However, based on current knowledge on the proportion of exotic species in Azores, we hypothesize that the local pollination networks are instead dominated by introduced generalist pollinators in most habitats. For this purpose we focus upon two goals: i) the variation in the structure and dynamics of pollination interaction networks on land-uses varying in disturbance levels, area and habitats fragmentation, and ii) quantify these general relationships and identify specific pollinator functional groups, such as indigenous or exotic specialists or super-generalists. To achieve these goals, we will perform field observations in 5 types of habitats, measure link strength and diversity of the plant-pollinator interaction, evaluate the relative contribution of native and exotic pollinators for the overall po...
This presentation highlights 5 years of learning from coastal fishing communities in the Azores i... more This presentation highlights 5 years of learning from coastal fishing communities in the Azores islands Portugal. We used photo elicitation and focus groups to invite people to speak about the sea and all the deep, complex and sometimes contradictory meanings that it may have. The researchers sought environmental justice within the everyday processes using deep ethnographic and autobiographic-narrative inquiry which lead to participation in learning about as well as supporting collaborations between fishers, scientists and policy makers. This work calls for looking at the sea through new eyes, hearing with new ears, feeling differently and awakening to the possibility of knowing the sea in unfamiliar ways.
Insect Conservation and Diversity
Land-use change has profoundly impacted pollinator communities throughout the world. However, the... more Land-use change has profoundly impacted pollinator communities throughout the world. However, the processes through which it acts on pollinator diversity and composition are still poorly understood, especially in highly vulnerable island ecosystems. 2. In this study, we investigated the distribution, abundance, richness and composition of flower-visiting insects to assess their response to land-use change in Terceira Island (Azores). 3. Flower-visiting were sampled over two years using a standardized protocol along 50 transects across five different habitats corresponding to a land-use gradient. Insect species were classified as indigenous or exotics. We assessed changes across habitats using multiple diversity indices, species abundance distribution models (SAD) and species composition metrics (-diversity), along with plant species composition. 4. We observed that indigenous flower-visiting insects were dominant, both in abundance and species richness, across the entire land-use gradient. Species diversity vary only slightly across the gradient. SADs were lognormal in all habitats, with very few truly common and rare flower-visiting insects and a prevalence of species of intermediate abundance. Species replacement was significantly higher mainly between the two most contrasting habitats (i.e. natural forests and intensive pastures) but was significantly correlated with species replacement of host plant species across the gradient. 5. Our results revealed that the Azorean flower-visiting insect communities were highly simplified across the entire gradient with little difference between habitats. In the absence of strong exotic competitors, indigenous flower-visiting insects expand their range and occupy new anthropogenic habitats, also facilitating the expansion of a large number of exotic plant species.
PLOS ONE
Direct contact with nature is paramount in deepening children’s and teenagers’ interest in biodiv... more Direct contact with nature is paramount in deepening children’s and teenagers’ interest in biodiversity. Learning materials chosen to convey information and engage participants during outings in nature-rich environments are varied and can support rich learning experiences. For this purpose, learning materials can be acquired "off-the-shelf" or developed for site-specific locations or projects. However, there is little guidance on potential techniques for those wishing to generate contextually relevant materials. With the view of responding to this challenge, we propose the cultural probes technique. We demonstrate that the technique, commonly used in qualitative research to generate novel insights in conversation with participants, can instigate innovative and thoughtful approaches to materials designed for children and teenagers to explore nature. We present a toolkit that draws on the literature on cultural probes, inquiry-based learning, and the value of sensory, emotio...
Environmental Conservation
SummaryBiodiversity loss is a complex issue and a risk that education cannot overlook. Teachers p... more SummaryBiodiversity loss is a complex issue and a risk that education cannot overlook. Teachers play a crucial role in how biodiversity, and in particular local biodiversity, is understood. To provide insight into how to improve communication on the subject, we investigate teachers’ perspectives and social representations regarding biodiversity, their fluency in terms of Internet use, their familiarity with biodiversity web portals and perceived pedagogical usefulness of technology. A sample of 243 K–12 schoolteachers of multiple scientific domains from eight Azorean islands answered an online survey, including three free-word association tests using inductive terms such as ‘Internet’, ‘biodiversity’ and ‘familiar biodiversity portals’. Overall, the schoolteachers failed to incorporate the multidimensionality of the biodiversity concept (including natural science teachers) or to show technological fluency, and they tended not to use biodiversity web portals as tools to engage studen...
Conservation studies usually assess the effectiveness of protected areas and draft proposals on t... more Conservation studies usually assess the effectiveness of protected areas and draft proposals on the inclusion of new areas to gain legal protection status, paying little attention to the unprotected surrounding matrix of the respective protected areas network. By combining species distribution modeling and a site selection method, we aim to quantify the contribution of different land uses to insect pollinator conservation on a small oceanic island i.e. Terceira Island (Azores, Portugal). Our results showed that, in addition to well preserved and protected native forest in Terceira, other land uses, such as naturalized vegetation areas, exotic forests, and semi-natural pastures, could serve as a continuum for the protected areas network. This result suggests that protecting marginal non-natural areas may also be important, especially when areas with wellpreserved natural habitats are scarce. This spatial planning approach can be easily applied to other islands in the archipelago and ...
We report 18 species of wild bees plus the domesticated honeybee from the Azores, which adds nine... more We report 18 species of wild bees plus the domesticated honeybee from the Azores, which adds nine species to earlier lists. One species, Hylaeus azorae, seems to be a single island endemic, and three species are possibly native (Colletes eous, Halictus villosulus, and Hylaeus pictipes). All the remaining bee species are most likely accidental introductions that arrived after human colonization of the archipelago in the 15th century. Bee diversity in the Azores is similar to bee diversity of Madeira and Cape Verde but nearly ten times lower than it is in the Canary Islands.
This multi-voice script highlights the process of five years of research with coastal fishing com... more This multi-voice script highlights the process of five years of research with coastal fishing communities in the Azores islands o f P rtugal. Initially, we used photo elicitation and focus groups to invite people to sp eak about the sea and all the deep, complex and sometimes contradictory meanings that it may ha ve. In later years, the researchers sought environmental justice within everyday processes, us ing deep ethnographic and autobiographicnarrative inquiry which led to participation in lea rning about – as well as supporting – collaborations between fishers, scientists and poli cy makers. The text is constructed via artsinformed research methodology and consists of two p arallel, creative narratives, intermittently interrupted by a visual narrative. This work calls for looking at the sea through new eyes, hearing with new ears, feeling differently and awak ening to the possibility of knowing the sea in unfamiliar ways.
Here we present Field Guide, a mobile application (app) designed to connect communities to nature... more Here we present Field Guide, a mobile application (app) designed to connect communities to nature-rich environments, which play a crucial role in nature conservation efforts. The app aligns to a mode of science communication that seeks to establish direct contact between publics and specialised scientific communities, most commonly known as the 'ask a scientist' approach. Field Guide uses a geolocation positioning system to offer users the opportunity to pose questions to scientists whilst exploring a nature conservation site. In this demo, we display the app as a mock-up presentation before its first use by children and teenagers during a field-trip to a nature trail later in 2021.
One Ecosystem
This paper analyses and compares a set of case studies on ecosystem services (ES) mapping and ass... more This paper analyses and compares a set of case studies on ecosystem services (ES) mapping and assessment with the purpose of formulating lessons learned and recommendations. Fourteen case studies were selected during the EU Horizon 2020 “Coordination and Support Action” ESMERALDA to represent different policy- and decision-making processes throughout the European Union, across a wide range of themes, biomes and scales. The analysis is based on a framework that addresses the key steps of an ES mapping and assessment process, namely policy questions, stakeholder identification and involvement, application of mapping and assessment methods, dissemination and communication and implementation. The analysis revealed that most case studies were policy-orientated or gave explicit suggestions for policy implementation in different contexts, including urban, rural and natural areas. Amongst the findings, the importance of starting stakeholder engagement early in the process was confirmed in o...
Nature Conservation
Insect pollinators provide vital ecosystem services through its maintenance of plant biological d... more Insect pollinators provide vital ecosystem services through its maintenance of plant biological diversity and its role in food production. Indeed, adequate pollination services can increase the production and quality of fruit and vegetable crops. This service is currently challenged by land use intensification and expanding human population growth. Hence, this study aims: (1) to assess the pollination services in different land uses with different levels of disturbance through GIS mapping technique using insect pollinators abundance and richness as indicators, and (2) estimate the economic value of pollination by insects in agricultural crops. Our study takes place in a small oceanic island, Terceira (Azores, Portugal). Our results showed, remarkably, that not only the pristine vegetation areas, but also the orchards and agricultural areas have relatively high values of pollination services, even though both land uses have opposite disturbance levels. For the economic valuation, we analyzed 24 crops in the island and found that 18 depend on pollinators with one-third of these crops having 65% or 95% dependence on pollinators. The economic contribution of pollinators totals 36.2% of the total mean annual agricultural income of the dependent crops, highlighting the importance of insect pollinators in agricultural production and consequent economic gain productions.
ZooKeys, 2017
We report 18 species of wild bees plus the domesticated honeybee from the Azores, which adds nine... more We report 18 species of wild bees plus the domesticated honeybee from the Azores, which adds nine species to earlier lists. One species, Hylaeus azorae, seems to be a single island endemic, and three species are possibly native (Colletes eous, Halictus villosulus, and Hylaeus pictipes). All the remaining bee species are most likely accidental introductions that arrived after human colonization of the archipelago in the 15 th century. Bee diversity in the Azores is similar to bee diversity of Madeira and Cape Verde but nearly ten times lower than it is in the Canary Islands.
A classic example of an ecosystem service is pollination, with an important economic value. It ha... more A classic example of an ecosystem service is pollination, with an important economic value. It has been postulated that endemic super generalists are the key pollinators on islands. However, based on current knowledge on the proportion of exotic species in Azores, we hypothesize that the local pollination networks are instead dominated by introduced generalist pollinators in most habitats. For this purpose we focus upon two goals: i) the variation in the structure and dynamics of pollination interaction networks on land-uses varying in disturbance levels, area and habitats fragmentation, and ii) quantify these general relationships and identify specific pollinator functional groups, such as indigenous or exotic specialists or super-generalists. To achieve these goals, we will perform field observations in 5 types of habitats, measure link strength and diversity of the plant-pollinator interaction, evaluate the relative contribution of native and exotic pollinators for the overall po...
This presentation highlights 5 years of learning from coastal fishing communities in the Azores i... more This presentation highlights 5 years of learning from coastal fishing communities in the Azores islands Portugal. We used photo elicitation and focus groups to invite people to speak about the sea and all the deep, complex and sometimes contradictory meanings that it may have. The researchers sought environmental justice within the everyday processes using deep ethnographic and autobiographic-narrative inquiry which lead to participation in learning about as well as supporting collaborations between fishers, scientists and policy makers. This work calls for looking at the sea through new eyes, hearing with new ears, feeling differently and awakening to the possibility of knowing the sea in unfamiliar ways.
Insect Conservation and Diversity
Land-use change has profoundly impacted pollinator communities throughout the world. However, the... more Land-use change has profoundly impacted pollinator communities throughout the world. However, the processes through which it acts on pollinator diversity and composition are still poorly understood, especially in highly vulnerable island ecosystems. 2. In this study, we investigated the distribution, abundance, richness and composition of flower-visiting insects to assess their response to land-use change in Terceira Island (Azores). 3. Flower-visiting were sampled over two years using a standardized protocol along 50 transects across five different habitats corresponding to a land-use gradient. Insect species were classified as indigenous or exotics. We assessed changes across habitats using multiple diversity indices, species abundance distribution models (SAD) and species composition metrics (-diversity), along with plant species composition. 4. We observed that indigenous flower-visiting insects were dominant, both in abundance and species richness, across the entire land-use gradient. Species diversity vary only slightly across the gradient. SADs were lognormal in all habitats, with very few truly common and rare flower-visiting insects and a prevalence of species of intermediate abundance. Species replacement was significantly higher mainly between the two most contrasting habitats (i.e. natural forests and intensive pastures) but was significantly correlated with species replacement of host plant species across the gradient. 5. Our results revealed that the Azorean flower-visiting insect communities were highly simplified across the entire gradient with little difference between habitats. In the absence of strong exotic competitors, indigenous flower-visiting insects expand their range and occupy new anthropogenic habitats, also facilitating the expansion of a large number of exotic plant species.