Morris Julie K, Jacobson Susan K, Flamm Richard O
Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, P.O. Box 110430, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
Environ Manage. 2007 Oct;40(4):596-602. doi: 10.1007/s00267-006-0389-1. Epub 2007 Jul 18.
Watercraft collisions account for 25-30% of manatee deaths annually in Florida. Education and outreach interventions for boaters are strategies for reducing manatee mortality. We evaluated the effectiveness of the Manatee Watch program by surveying primary boat users whose boats were approached by Manatee Watch. We compared the attitudes, knowledge, and behavioral intentions of boaters who received Manatee Watch materials with a control group of boaters observed by the Florida Marine Research Institute in Tampa Bay during 1999-2001. Results of the 51-item telephone survey with 499 boaters indicated that the Manatee Watch intervention had little effect on boater's attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors regarding manatees. However, individual attitude scores were positively correlated with safe boating behaviors in shallow waters including maintaining a slower speed and watching out for manatees. Overall knowledge about manatees was correlated with one manatee-safe boating behavior. To improve efficacy, educators should (a) incorporate evaluation into the planning stages of program development; (b) target messages to influence boaters' attitudes toward manatees and ecosystem health, and their feelings of ownership and empowerment; (c) facilitate active participation of the boaters; and (d) increase the duration and variety of intervention.
在佛罗里达州，船只碰撞导致的海牛死亡数占海牛年死亡总数的25%至30%。针对划船者开展教育及推广干预措施是降低海牛死亡率的策略。我们通过对主要船只使用者进行调查来评估“海牛守望”项目的成效，这些使用者的船只曾被“海牛守望”项目人员靠近过。我们将收到“海牛守望”项目资料的划船者的态度、知识和行为意图，与1999年至2001年期间在坦帕湾被佛罗里达海洋研究所观察的一组对照划船者进行了比较。对499名划船者进行的51项电话调查结果表明，“海牛守望”干预措施对划船者关于海牛的态度、知识和行为影响甚微。然而，个人态度得分与在浅水区安全划船行为呈正相关，这些行为包括保持较慢速度以及留意海牛。关于海牛的总体知识与一种海牛安全划船行为相关。为提高成效，教育工作者应：(a) 将评估纳入项目开发的规划阶段；(b) 确定目标信息，以影响划船者对海牛和生态系统健康的态度，以及他们的主人翁意识和自主意识；(c) 促进划船者的积极参与；(d) 延长干预持续时间并增加干预形式的多样性。
