Species appeal predicts conservation status

Conservation of animal species should start from real needs of protection and intervention shown by species and their habitats, but it is often driven by the perception which humans have of species, as the latter enables fund raising and attracts financial resources for conservation actions. However, this approach dominated by the so-called flagship species has been severely criticised, because of the associated risk of directing resources to charismatic species while neglecting threatened ones. An analysis of conservation status in relation to species appeal, habitat, sociality, body length and population size outlined how the more "appealing" bird species in Italy have better conservation status. This is likely due to an over-representation of most appealing species in conservation projects and suggests that a more careful and status-based prioritization of conservation efforts should be adopted. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.