Perceptions of effectiveness and preferences for design and position of signage on Victorian beaches for the management of hooded plovers 'thinornis rubricollis'

2013·1.9 MB·English

n
Research Reports
Perceptions ofeffectiveness and preferences for design and position
ofsignage on Victorian beaches for the management of
Hooded Plovers Thinornis rubricollis
James M Rimmer1 Grainne SMaguire2and Michael AWeston3
,
'BarwonCoast,EwingBlythDrive,BarwonHeads,Victoria3227
2BirdLifeAustralia,Suite2-05,TheGreenBuilding,60LeicesterStreet,Carlton,Victoria3052
3CentreforIntegrativeEcology,FacultyofEngineering,ScienceandBuiltEnvironment,
DeakinUniversity,221 BurwoodHighway,Burwood,Victoria3125
Correspondingauthor:[email protected]
Abstract
Threatenedspeciessignageisfrequentlyusedtohelpprotectspeciesbylimitinghumanoccurrenceoraltering
damaging humanbehaviour, yetisrarelydevelopedusingascientificapproach that involves collectingdata
fromthekeytargetaudienceinregardtotheirpreferencesforsignsandplacementofsigns.Wesurveyedmem-
bersofthebeach-goingpublic( =684) todocumenttheirpreferencesfordesirablefeaturesandpositioning
ofsignagetoprotectthreatenedbeach-nestingbirds.Theresultssuggestapreferenceforinformationrelating
toeducationandpersuasionoverdetailsofregulation.However,preferencesdifferedbetweenrecreationaluser
groups,suggestingthattargetaudiencesshouldbeidentifiedspecificallyandprioritised.Wealsodescribeclear
preferencesbetweenfourcandidatesigns,whichwillfacilitateamore informed choiceofsignageforbeach-
nestingbirdmanagement.(TheVictorianNaturalist130(2)2013,75-80)
Keywords:signage, Hooded Plover,education,recreationists, interpretation
Introduction
Signageisakeytechniqueformanaginghuman nage amongstthegeneral public,thetargetau-
behaviour in natural environments, especially dience ofthe signs. We also examined features
in places where human usage is high and be- which the general public considered would
havioural change is required for successful co- makesigns most effective, interms ofassisting
existence between biodiversity and people. In HoodedPlovers.Wedescribethosepreferences
southern Australia, signage is used extensively andviews inthispreliminarystudy.
to protecteggsandyoungofthebeach-nesting Methods
Hooded Plover Thinornis rubricollis from dis- Between September 2009 and April 2010, we
turbance and crushing, and to educate beach- surveyed 684 people (18+ years old) who in-
goers (DowlingandWeston 1999; Ormsbyand
dicated they had access to, and therefore were
Forys 2010; Weston et al. 2011). Providing ef-
fneacmtiivcessuibgsntargaetesis,dainffdicmulutltoindibreecatcihoensalwihtuhmdayn- tpHorotioebnudtteiidanlgPuqlsuoeevrsestriofob,neVnaiaccihtreoesrsiat(on77bpeeraoecpshpleoesn,spebrsye,:se12n)6td.io6sn%-
access to sensitive areas. The design and effec-
tiveness of wildlife management signs in rec- ardejtaucrenntratte)o; H2)ooldetetderbPolxovderropbseatochheosus(e2h5olrdes-
reational areasvariesconsiderablyandis rarely sponses, 25.0% return rate); and 3) advertising
the product oftheory or research (Ballantyne
an online questionnaire to ‘beach users’ (Sur-
and Hughes 2006). The effectiveness of most
vey Monkey; 579 responses). See http://www.
wildlife management signs is poorly known,
birdlife.org.au/projects/beach-nesting-birds/
withtheexceptionofsignageregardinganimal/
research for the questionnaire, which had 20
vehiclecollisionsorthefeeding ofwildlife (e.g.
closed questions including five, five-point,
Ballantyne and Hughes 2006; Krisp and Durot
scaledquestionsinvolving77items.Thesurvey
2007; Pojar et al 1975). As part of a broader
survey ofattitudes to Hooded Plover manage- investigated abroad range ofattitudes towards
plover management, so a logical subset of
ment, we examined some preferences for sig-
Vol 130 (2) 2013 75
Research Reports
questions wasanalysed to examine respondent VAs, which were conducted on factor scores,
views of signage (Table 1). Reply paid enve- and means ± one standard error are presented
lopes were provided to people surveyed using throughout. We wished to compare responses
methods 1 and2 above. Datawere collectedby between prominent beach user groups. Fre-
BirdLife Australia and Gordon TAFE. Prefer- quencyofbeach use was established througha
encesforsignplacement indicatedbyrespond- series ofquestions asking how often respond-
entswere comparedwiththeposition ofactual entsusebeaches,whether theywere dogwalk-
signson the BellarinePeninsula, as noteddur- ers, and their level ofawareness ofHooded
ing comprehensive beach surveys for breeding Plovers. Finally, respondents ranked aspectsof
plovers. foursigns,deemedtobecandidatesfordeploy-
Respondents were asked to indicate where ment (Fig. 1).
signs should be placed and how likely they
Results
would be to read a sign. Scaled responses to
Respondents were ‘likely’ to read a sign that
questions regarding theperceived effectiveness
was positioned on or near the beach (4.39 ±
ofeight features ofsigns were analysed using
FactorAnalysis(Principle ComponentsAnaly- 0‘d.e0f3i,niwtehley’reres1peacntdive5lyw;erne=‘5de1f6i)n.itWelhyennot’asaknedd
sis with varimax rotation; SPSS v. 11.5, SPSS where signs should beplaced tobehighly‘no-
Inc., Chicago, Illinois); this identified groups
ticeable’ (respondents could provide multiple
of questions (items) being answered in simi-
responses; bracketed figures refer to 65 actual
Alalrl wFaytse,stsacrceofrerditnog rteopeaanteudndmeeralsyuirnegs‘tAhNemOe’-. Hooded Plover signs along the Bellarine Pe-
ninsula), 78.4% (40.0%) of 524 respondents
Table1.Surveyquestionsanalysedhere(basicdemographicquestionsareexcluded).
Question Items/options Responsetype
Wheredoyouthinksignsshouldbe 1.Inthecarpark Multipleitems
placedtomakethemmostnoticeable? 2.Atbeginningoftheaccesspath ticked
3.Attheendoftheaccesspath
4.Inthedunes
5.Onthelowerbeach
6.Ontheupperbeach
Ifyounoticedasignonthebeach, N/A Fivepointscale
howlikelywoulditbeforyouto
stoptoreadit?
Ofthefoursignsyouhavebeen N/A Fourpointscale
shown,pleaseranktheminorder
ofpreference.
Whatdoyouthinkarethemost 1.Wordingthattakesanauthoritative Fivepointscale
effectivefeaturesofHooded approach.
Ploversigns? 2.Indicationsofpenaltiesorfines.
3.Acleardefinitionoftheproblem.
4.AcleardefinitionofhowIshould
behave.
5.Appealingtopeoplesfeelings/
emotions.
6.PersonalisingthebirdsothatIcanrelate
moreeasilytoitsplight.
7.Colourfulpictures/photographs.
8.Identificationofnearbyalternative
locationsforrecreationwherethereare
noHoodedPloverspresent.
76 TheVictorianNaturalist
Research Reports
A
ij*i
HELP ME AND MY FAMILYTO SURVIVE
We aretwoofonly400 Hooded Plovers inVictoria
and will surely perish ifournesting site is
disturbed.Tohelp us please:
* Lookoutforsignsonthe beach
* Stayclearofthefenced areas
* Keep dogson leash atall times oi
tni
* Do notwalk onthe upperbeach orin thedunes irviinninl Bird*Australia VnOadUa
A
Sign
ProtectedNestingArea: PleaseKeepClear
Hooded Plovers are incredibly rare on the
Otway and Surf coasts. These threatened
birds are found on only two beaches in
ApolloBay,andonly400 remain inVictoria.
TheynestfromSeptembertoMarchandthey
cannotbreedwithoutourhelp!
To prevent disturbance (which stops birds
incubating eggs and chicks feeding) and to
avoid stepping on their tiny eggs or chicks,
please:
Walkpastthisareaalongthewatersedge
Donotenterthefencedareasordunes
Do not remain in front ofthe fenced areas
(theirfeedingarea)
Leashyourdogwhenwalkingpast
Sign B
Fig. 1.Thesignswhichwere ratedbyrespondents.
Voll30 (2) 2013 77
Research Reports
(Noimage)
EndangeredShorebirdSpeciesNestingArea
Donotenterordisturb
PenaltiesApply.
Therareandendangered Hooded Ploverisnesting in thisarea. Therearelessthan
400 locatedalongVictoriascoastline.
Dogsmustbeleashedatalltimes.
Forfurtherinformationcontact
BirdLifeAustralia
Sign C
ENDANGERED BIRDS
NESTING ON BEACH!!
Look out for signs on the beach and
keep clear offenced areas.
Please if you wish to walk your dog
off its lead, use an alternative stretch
of beach. Nearby locations include:
* A (Carpark 600m east)
* B (Carpark 700m west) SustDaaipnaabritlmietyntanodf
Environment BirdsAusiralia AustralianCmvmmoit
Sign D
Fig. 1. (cont.)Thesignswhichwereratedbyrespondents.
78 TheVictorianNaturalist
The
Victorian
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AuA2s0tN1r1HalMMieadnalNlaitounrisatlJHiCsWtoWroyiMneadraslkili2o0n NPerwaaTgRh,MBBDa,yeFsieEl,dDRoPugalnadsYFe,nWhAiLtfi1e1l4dJ,Van
TrustFundDonations21 O’Brien andHutchinson 29 (book
J
review)
Authors O’BrienTPandMorganJW4
AmbroseG 187 (bookreview) PattersonGandGreyE 119
Bayes E, Douglas F, Whitfield J, Van Praagh PreslandG20,27 (bookreview)
BD,FieldRP,YenALandNewTR 114 RitchieA214 (bookreview)
BilneyRJ 138 SchultzNandHoman P36
BrabyMF86 TolsmaA,BrownGandMcNabbE77
BrownG,TolsmaAandMcNabbE77 TruemanW,Douglas andHuntT 152
Cardilini AP,EkanayakeKBandWestonMA TurnerGS46 J
22 VanPraaghBD,Field RP,BayesE,DouglasF,
ClemannN61 (bookreview) Whitfield YenALandNewTR 114
ClemannNandGillespieG 120 (letter) VanPraaghJ,BD,NewTandYenAL68
CohenA,Kirkman HandHouridisH97 WallisR31 (bookreview)
DouglasF,WhitfieldJ,VanPraaghBD,Field WalshN 10
RP, YenAL, Bayes EandNewTRW114 WestonMA,CardiliniAPandEkanayakeKB
Douglas HuntTandTrueman 152 22
J,
Editors, The Victorian Naturalist2,34,66, WhinrayJ 144
Ek12a6n,ay15a8k,e1K9B0, CardiliniAPandWestonMA WhBiDt,fiFeiledldJ,RBPa,yYeesnE,ALDoaungdlaNseFw,VTaRn1P1r4aagh
22 YenAL, BayesE,DouglasF,WhitfieldJ,Van
FaggP 147 PraaghBD,FieldRPandNewTR 114
Field RP,BayesE,DouglasF,WhitfieldJ,Van YenAL,VanPraaghBDandNewT68
PraaghBD,YenALandNewTR 114
Fisher PMJ 183 Amphibians
FloyedAandGibsonM203 Mixophyes balbuscall, aresponse 120
GGiabrsdoennMD6a2nd(bFolookyerdevAie2w0)3 SouthernbarredFrogcall, aresponse 120
GillespieGandClemannN 120 (letter) Birds
Green K 181 Corvusmellori predatoronshorebirds22
GreyEandPattersonG 119 LittleRavenspr,edatoronshorebirds22
HarleyD 175 SootyOwl,heldresponsibleforsubfossil
Homan P 128, 192 deposits, Buchan 138
Homan PandSchultzN36 Tyto tenebricosa heldresponsibleforsubfossil
HouridisH, CohenAandKirkman H97 deposits, Bucha,n 138
Hubregtse andHubregtseV 160
J
HubregtseVandHubregtse 160 BookReviews
HuntT,DouglasJandTruMemJanW 152 A FlutterofButterflies M Braby and P Olsen
HutchinsonJandO’Brien 29 (book (GAmbrose) 187
review) Burke& Wills: thescientificlegacyofthe
Kirkman H,CohenAandHouridisH97 VictorianExploringExpeditionEBJoyceand
ManserghI24 DAMcCann (eds.) (AMorton) 122
McNabb E, BrownGandTolsmaA77 FiftyAnimals thatchangedthecourseof
MeagherD 54 HistoryEChaline (RWallis) 31
GM
Moore 167 Frozenin Time:prehistoriclifeinAntarctica
MorganJWandO’BrienTP4 JD StilwellandJALong(ARitchie) 214
Morton A 122 (bookreview) KillersinEden: thestoryofa rarepartnership
MueckS 180 between menandkillerwhalesDClode
NewT 109, 114,215 (bookreview) (DGarden) 62
NewT,VanPraagh BDandYenAL68 Life inagall: Thebiologyofinsectsthatlivein