Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany.
Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Fahrenheitstraße 6, 28359 Bremen, Germany.
Sci Adv. 2017 Jun 14;3(6):e1602516. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1602516. eCollection 2017 Jun.
Resolving uncertainties in managed social-ecological systems requires adaptive experimentation at whole-ecosystem levels. However, whether participatory adaptive management fosters ecological understanding among stakeholders beyond the sphere of science is unknown. We experimentally involved members of German angling clubs ( = 181 in workshops, = 2483 in total) engaged in self-governance of freshwater fisheries resources in a large-scale ecological experiment of active adaptive management of fish stocking, which constitutes a controversial management practice for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning when conducted inappropriately. The collaborative ecological experiments spanned several years and manipulated fish densities in 24 lakes with two species. In parallel, we experimentally compared changes in ecological knowledge and antecedents of proenvironmental behavior in stakeholders and managers who were members of a participatory adaptive management treatment group, with those receiving only a standard lecture, relative to placebo controls. Using a within-subjects pretest-posttest control design, changes in ecological knowledge, environmental beliefs, attitudes, norms, and behavioral intentions were evaluated. Participants in adaptive management retained more knowledge of ecological topics after a period of 8 months compared to those receiving a standard lecture, both relative to controls. Involvement in adaptive management was also the only treatment that altered personal norms and beliefs related to stocking. Critically, only the stakeholders who participated in adaptive management reduced their behavioral intentions to engage in fish stocking in the future. Adaptive management is essential for robust ecological knowledge, and we show that involving stakeholders in adaptive management experiments is a powerful tool to enhance ecological literacy and build environmental capacity to move toward sustainability.
解决管理社会-生态系统中的不确定性需要在整个生态系统层面进行适应性实验。然而，参与式适应性管理是否能促进利益相关者对生态的理解，超出科学界的范围，目前尚不清楚。我们在一个大规模的鱼类放养主动适应性管理生态实验中，实验性地让德国钓鱼俱乐部的成员（ = 181 人参加研讨会，= 2483 人参加总人数）参与淡水渔业资源的自我管理，这种做法构成了对生物多样性和生态系统功能的有争议的管理实践，如果不恰当地进行，就会产生这种做法。协作生态实验跨越了数年，在 24 个湖泊中用两种鱼类操纵了鱼类密度。同时，我们实验性地比较了参与参与式适应性管理处理组的利益相关者和管理者（n = 181）与仅接受标准讲座的利益相关者和管理者（n = 2483）之间的生态知识变化和环境行为前因，与安慰剂对照。使用受试者内前测后测控制设计，评估了生态知识、环境信仰、态度、规范和行为意向的变化。与接受标准讲座的参与者相比，在 8 个月的时间内，参与适应性管理的参与者保留了更多关于生态主题的知识，与对照组相比也是如此。参与适应性管理也是唯一改变与放养相关的个人规范和信仰的治疗方法。至关重要的是，只有参与适应性管理的利益相关者才会减少他们未来从事鱼类放养的行为意向。适应性管理对于稳健的生态知识至关重要，我们表明，让利益相关者参与适应性管理实验是增强生态素养和建立环境能力以实现可持续性的有力工具。
